See the Latest Water Quality Monitoring Data from the FoRR Monitoring Team!

FoRR took to the river on May 17 and 18 to monitor at five sites in the Reedy River watershed! Our sites include the following:

• Site #1: Reedy River along the Swamp Rabbit Trail, downstream of Swamp Rabbit Cafe
• Site #2: A small tributary of the Reedy River in Falls Park 
• Site #3: Reedy River behind the ReWa headquarters (near our new office!)
• Site #4: A tributary on Greenville Tech's Brashier campus in Simpsonville
• Site #5: A tributary in Cedar Falls Park in Simpsonville

The pH results for May were consistent with April's findings at all five of our reported sites. Our conductivity results for all sites were also similar to last month's findings.

The dissolved oxygen (DO) levels decreased by an average of 0.7 mg/L across all sites (compare to the 1.14 mg/L decrease we saw from March to April). The average air temperatures for all sites when sampled at their regularly monitored time increased by an average of 5.1 degrees Celsius. Water temperatures increased by an average of 3.4 degrees Celsius from April to May. DO levels will remain low throughout the warmer months and will eventually increase again in the fall when we experience cooler temperatures again due to the inverse relationship between temperature and DO capacity in water: the warmer the temperature, the lower the water's capacity to hold DO!

May's E. coli bacteria levels showed slight changes this month. Our site near Falls Park had a significantly low count of only 66.67 CFU/100mL but can't compare to Greenville Tech Brashier's count of 0 CFU/100mL! Cedar Falls Park also had notably low E. coli bacteria counts, all of which can likely be attributed to the unseasonably dry weather we have had in the upstate in the past weeks. Our ReWa site's level was a moderate 267 CFU/100mL, which shows a return to normal levels for this location as opposed to last month's somewhat high results (433 CFU/100mL). We expect to see sustained higher E. coli bacteria counts until temperatures drop again in the fall.

We have included this month's results along with SC's state standards for comparison below. All results were within state standards.

Data from April 2022:

• pH is a way of measuring the H+ ions in a water sample, or if the sample is acidic or basic. pH is influenced by the concentration of acids in rain, and the types of soils and bedrock present in the watershed. Ideally, rivers will have a neutral pH, or a value of 7.
• The available dissolved oxygen (DO) in a water sample is important for fish health and life within a body of water. DO can increase in lower temperatures, turbulence in the water, photosynthesis in the stream, and diffusion from the atmosphere. DO can decrease in higher temperatures, in slow-moving and deep water, and in the presence of decaying organic matter.
• Conductivity is the ability of the water to pass an electric charge and shows the presence of ions in the water, such as salt, nitrate, phosphate, and many others. The bedrock in the watershed can also affect conductivity
• Bacteria counts are found by incubating a water sample that was placed on a medium, then counting the number of coliform forming units. These values are higher in areas where animals are present so always remember to pick up after your pets and don't feed the geese in the park!

THE FORR MONITORING TEAM USES SC ADOPT-A-STREAM TECHNIQUES AND HAS ITS OWN MONITORING KIT, THANKS TO IVY SALON!

SIGN UP TO JOIN THE FORR MONITORING TEAM HERE!

SEE THE UPCOMING SC ADOPT-A-STREAM WORKSHOPS HERE!