Project WEST
204 Mines, Univeristy of Utah
Salt Lake City, UT 84112-0112
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Home•Field Trips•Nibley Park Water Quality Testing at Fairmont Park
Nibley Park Water Quality Testing at Fairmont Park
In November 2007, WEST fellow Kit Clemons took Nibley Park School’s teachers and seventh grade students to investigate the quality of water in Parley's Creek as it runs through Fairmont Park in Salt Lake City. The students used Vernier probes and water monitoring test kits to quantify levels of dissolved oxygen, nitrate, and phosphate. They also tested pH, temperature, and turbidity in the park’s water. Students will return to this site once a month throughout the school year to document how the various parameters of water quality change with the seasons.
Back in the classroom, the students will use the information gathered during the field phase to make graphs representing the varying levels of each water quality indicator in order to determine the relative health of the stream. The students will look at satellite imagery of land surrounding the park and discussed any possible point-source pollution contributing to the levels of nitrate, phosphate, temperature, and turbidity found at the park. This data will be contributed to a larger data base that is being generated by WEST-participating schools throughout the city.
WEST Fellow Kit Clemons helps a Nibley Park student learn how to use the Vernier probe software
Nibley Park 7th graders test the amount of total dissolved solids (TDS) in Parley's Creek. Students then determined whether or not the level of TDS were acceptable to fish and other wildlife (it was!).
