Project SWOOSH gives Chemistry Students Opportunity to Study Streams
by Michael J. and Virginia C. Demchik
Project SWOOSH is a program at Jefferson High School (Shenandoah Junction, WV) [acronymed for Students Watching Over Our Streams' Health. It was initiated through a $500 \special grants program from the Eastern Panhandle Soil Conservation Service, which provided money to purchase a limnology field test kit, nets, and a 24 hour E.coli test kit. Through Project `SWOOSH students in Chemistry II have the opportunity to participate in the study of the life of three streams in our area, selected on the basis of such characteristics as rate of water moving :through the stream, size, watershed, and ease of access.
Project SWOOSH contracted to do four collections and assessments on three streams in the [northern part of Jefferson County, WV: Elk Run, Town Run, and Rocky Marsh (see map). The first two data collections were made in May 1994 and September 1995, and the last two will be bmade in September 1996 and March 1997. One interesting aspect of this project is the opportunity to determine any effect of construction of an Amtrak waiting platform and two blacktop parking lots on the stream life and water quality of Elk Run. (The May 1994 testing preceded the construction and the September 1995 data were gathered while construction was taking place.)
Samples were collected from the sites on each stream after school and on Saturday during the same week of each selected month. This was usually accomplished by two or three class Members, who videotaped the methodology for the remainder of the class to see. On-site measurements of pH, dissolved oxygen, dissolved carbon dioxide were made immediately, and the remainder of the samples was returned to the classroom for assessment of nitrates, phosphore, Silica, total hardens, and calcium and magnesium hardens.
The method used to collect organisms was kicknetting, which involved getting into the water and using the side of the foot to disturb the base of the steam. Areas usually selected were around rocks, in ripples and around bclumps of living plants. A large net was placed directly in front of the kicknetted area. A one agallon Ziplock bag was filled with water from the site and the kicknetted material placed in the bag. A 24-48 hour E.coli test was also run.
Biological identification of organisms from each of the selected sites to evaluate the water quality of each stream is accomplished with the Kimmel-Sharpe system (William P. Kimmel and William E. Sharpe, Taxonomy of Aquatic Invertebrates (Penn State, State College, PA, 1990 revision)), which rates stream organisms based on their degree of sensitivity to pollution. Highly sensitive eorganisms are rated as 2 and moderately sensitive are rated 1, while those that are not sensitive to pollution are rated at 0. The more highly sensitive the organisms present, the higher the score, and a high score is an indicator of a clean stream. The Kimmel and Sharpe scale requires a 10 for a clean stream." Data for May 1994 and September 1995, averaged over the four sites for Elk Run and Town LRun and the six sites for Rocky Marsh, are presented in the following
Table is missing because of conversion problem
Kimmel-Sharpe # 7 7 10 10 7 7
NOTE: All concentrations are given in ppm (parts per million). >1.0 signifies concentrations just slightly greater than 1 ppm.
The data show that there is some pollution in both Elk Run and Rocky Marsh, rated at 7 on the Kimmel-Sharpe scale, but that these streams are not strongly polluted. Town Run was rated as a clean stream with a rating of 10. The streams show a pH in the basic range. The reason is that the bedrock base in this area is either Hagerstown limestone, Duffield limestone, or both, which also contributes to the high water hardness. The negative E. coli readings indicate absence of fecal contamination and other harmful bacteria.
The SWOOSH program provides students with a wide variety of chemical and biologically related interactions with both indoor and outdoor involvement. The students who have participated in the past have indicated that this was one of the applications in which they could easily see why certain types of material are taught. They also feel that they have contributed to knowledge of local interest. We feel that it is an effective tool for interaction between students and the environment which allows them the opportunity to assess a potential problem with methodologies and practices in the "real" world.
Editor's Note: Anyone interested in the costs of running a SWOOSH program may contact the authors at Jefferson High School, Route 1, Box 83, Shenandoah Junction, WV 25442.)
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