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Evaluating the health of a stream doesn't
require costly devices that monitor specific and hard to detect
qualities. Analyzing a stream's health has a lot to do with factors
that don't require complicated devices. The physical characteristics of
a stream, its surroundings and what organisms live in it tell us a lot
about the state of the stream. Here are some easy ways to determine
whether your local stream is healthy or not:
1. Analyze the surroundings of the stream. A
healthy cold water stream would have at least fifty feet of vegetation
on either side with plants that provide lots of shade over the water.
2. Take the temperature of the stream (any
thermometer will do nicely) and if the temperature is between forty and
sixty degrees farenheit, it is at optimal temperature for a cold water
stream. If it is at seventy degrees or more however, the stream is too
warm for most cold water creatures, including the Brook Trout.
3. Check the turbitiy or the cloudiness of the
water. If the water is really brown and murky, it means there's a lot
of silt in it which suffocates the brook trout's eggs and makes it
difficult for the organisms in the water to breathe. A healthy stream's
water would be clear enough to see the bottom even in deeper pools.
4. Check the depth of the water, if the water
level is shallow and there aren't deep cool pools it is very difficult
for fish to live there.
5. Perhaps the most fun and most important way
to monitor stream quality is to look for bugs or macroinvertebrates.
Different types of macroinvertebrates live in streams of different
water quality. The types of bugs found can determine the health of the
aquatic habitat. Macroinvertebrates are most commonly found in the
riffles of a stream. You can find macroinvertebrates by turning over
rocks in these riffles with your hands or you can use a net to scrape
the stream floor and scoop up the bugs. When you have spotted some, put
them in a small tub of water and examine them (be careful some
macroinvertebrates such as crayfish pinch!) to determine which class
they will be put in. There are three taxas or classes of
macroinvertebrates as shown below.
Additional evaluation and measurments can be
performed. Contact your local park district for information.
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