Service Learning: Water Quality Monitoring by David Tang

Service Learning: Water Quality Monitoring by David Tang

              I have chosen the water quality monitoring as my service learning project, in this project relating to animal biology, because the water quality can affect animals, such as if the water has a too high pH or too many E. Coli The color will affect the salmon in the water, also can provide information to people that did the water is safe to swim.

In the project, we check E. coli, Dissolved oxygen, turbidity, pH, Hardness, and temperature. First thing before start we understand our objective, then we start our project, first is measure E. coli, we went down the rivers to get some sample and we pour our sample on the plate then it will from the gel in the plate for an hour. While waiting, we start our second measurement of dissolved oxygen, we used two bottles to get some sample and added some chemical in two bottles and wait until inside all solid had dissolved. Because we need to wait it dissolve, so we start our 3^rd measurement of turbidity, one of the members goes to get the water sample and others are ready two cylinders, one of the sample and one for a bottle water, then we keep adding drop to the sample until the sample water turbidity is like the bottle water turbidity, then we record the number of drops on the data. After recording data, we start our 4^th measurement of pH, one member get some sample in the rivers, then we add some chemical in it and wait a few second, then we use the pH color standard to measure the pH level with 7 people perspective that we all agree the level of the pH and record the data. And we start the 5^th measurement of Hardness which measure the Mg+ & Ca+ concentration; we got our sample and added some chemical, then we do a drop titration to the sample, we count the number of drops to gather until the sample turn to pink, and record the data. After all the measurement, we come back to the dissolved oxygen of two bottles to see is that all solid had been dissolved, then we poured some sample from these two bottles in two each cylinder, then we use a small syringe to titration until the liquid turn it to clear then record the number. Lastly, we check our E. coli plate that inside turn in to gel then we clean up and back to school.

We are doing titration of the Dissolved oxygen.

After we done our experience and start clean up.

              Our project title is Water Quality Monitoring on 2/26/2017at 10am-2pm, our functionary call Kacie McCarty; her phone number is 425-499-1625, and email: Kacie.mccarty@email.edcc.edu.

              The goals are to know how the water quality in the river, that is it safe for people to swim and organism in the water. My duties id to read pH procedure and assistant to other procedure, detail you can read the second paragraph above. In this experience, I learn a lot how to measure water quality, and I learn how important of this service to our community that to provide information to people is the water is safe for people to swim or is the salmon is good for us to eat because of the water can affect a lot. In this learning have some connection in our lab that measure of pH, and E. coli, and what pH is good for our body.

Question:

How were the pH level affect the species?

I wonder are people checking water quality frequently?

If water quality is bad, how do they fix it?

What is the condition for checking water quality?