July 15, 2011: Eutrophic water discovered in Bouldin Creek

During our Summer Leadership Program, our River Watchers were doing their regular monitoring visit to Bouldin Creek when they discovered something unusual: Eutrophic (pronounced “yoo-TROE-fick”) water, in a place that usually contained normal, healthy creek water. Eutrophic water is water that has experienced a sudden decline in quality, including a loss of oxygen, and it is dangerous for fish and other living organisms. Eutrophication can sometimes be caused by an influx of nitrates or other pollution, but in this case, we think it was caused by our extremely hot weather, combined with decreased water-flow rates. We alerted our partnering scientists at the City’s Watershed Protection Department, and we will continue monitoring this site. Hopefully, the situation will correct itself once the drought and the record-setting heat are over.