Today at Stormwater Sleuths, we learned how to measure the temperature of Lake Pupuke. Water temperature is vital for stream creatures to stay alive. Stream creatures love cool water, the cooler the better!

We used the instrument thermometer to measure the temperature of the water and the air. The water temperature of our lake is 20.4 degrees celsius and the air temperature under the shade is 19.6 degrees celsius

We also learnt how to test the pH (Potential Hydrogen) of the water, pH is a measurement of how acidic or how basic (alkaline) a liquid (water) is. A healthy bush stream should have a pH very close to 7, but sea water is closer to 8. Luckily, our water sample pH level is 7. We also managed to measure the sample of Coca Cola and white vinegar. Coca Cola was 3 pH and the white vinegar was 2 pH. Something else we did is measure the clarity of the stream. Just like plants on land, plants underwater need sunlight for growth. In streams, the amount of light that reaches underwater plants depends on how clear the water is. 

Our lake water sample clarity is 48. Dissolved oxygen (DO) is a measure of the quantity of oxygen gas present in water. DO is vital to aquatic organisms such as plants, microorganisms , invertebrates, (animals without backbones) and fish which need to breathe just as we do. The amount of dissolved oxygen in our water sample is 12. We also did a test for nutrients in the water. This can cause an increase in the growth of algae and other aquatic plants which may restrict flow and lead to increased water temperature and pH, and lower DO Nitrates tell us how close the source may be. Our Nitrate and Nitrite results are both 0 which is amazing!!!

(Other group members are: Blake L, Bailey L, Lily D, Berry D, Collin N, Ethan S, Kristy W, Ivor P, Olivia H)