January 25, 2016 | Barton Creek at Lost Creek Blvd
Seven River Watchers from Crockett High School tested water quality at Barton Creek at Lost Creek Blvd. After testing, River Watchers collected benthic macroinvertebrates, (bottom-dwelling insects that you can see with your eyes, no microscopes required) and discussed the sensitivity of the organisms they found to levels of dissolved oxygen and pollution levels. Based on the organisms we found, the Mentor in the group concluded that this stream has been healthy for quite a while, as some of the very sensitive organisms had been living in the water at this site for many months at least. This was the first time we sampled here since the Halloween flood and we noticed a lot of debris piled up against the culvert pipes on the upstream side of the lower road and that downstream, the walking path had been washed out with lots of erosion. The water level was much higher than it had been for a while. On site, volunteer extraordinaire, Mike Watts, took macro photos of the hellgrammites, mayfly nymphs, caddisfly larvae and other benthic organisms. When we returned back to the River Watch house for snacks, Mike used our projector to show the other crew of River Watchers our findings.
