Tiffany Creek Project Findings

The Final Peak in the Tiffany Creek Project Findings

Another year has passed, yet another semester of the Tiffany Creek project has been done and the results are in. For all of you who are new to this project, each semester, a grade 11 chemistry class tests the quality of Tiffany Creek, which runs through the Hamilton District Christian High property. One day when we were braving the weather to collect samples from the creek we came upon a unique visitor swimming about. Our duck friend is just one of the examples of wildlife found within this environment.

The Findings
We found that the creek had twice as much dissolved oxygen last spring than it does now. This is because last spring the water’s temperature was lower, therefore it could hold more dissolved oxygen in it. It could also be due to rain, water movement and the water volume as well.

Currently, it has around 6.0-7.0 mg/L of dissolved oxygen which is still a safe amount to sustain organisms in the water. The creek’s pH was slightly alkaline which may be due to the lack of rainfall we have, and the acid rain that is associated with it. It may also be due to the increase in limestone around, from either the riverbed itself or limestone in surrounding areas.

There was bacteria present in the creek when we did our testing but do not fear for some bacteria is needed for a balanced aquatic environment. Fecal coliform bacteria, which indicates a presence of other hazardous bacteria is within safe margins, 33.3 E.coli per 100 ml of water, and doesn’t pose a threat to this environment. The conductivity and ammonium levels have lowered since measured in the fall, with conductivity having an average of 300 microsiemens/cm and 0.2-0.8 mg/L of ammonium. These tests are correlated to temperature and dissolved ions.

What do these findings all mean? We concluded that though we don’t recommend you drink the creek water anytime soon, it is safe to be in contact with and a sustainable environment for many species of organisms found within it.

As stewards of God’s world, Christians are called upon to look after and protect His creation. By maintaining environments such as Tiffany Creek, we are preserving the homes of all kinds of organisms from bacteria (which aren’t always bad) to plants and even ducks! As a class, we realized the importance of water quality and how humans can have an expansive impact on it.

Alexa Dam
Chemistry Student