In this week’s lab, you learned all about water quality, from major sources and types of pollution to methods of field assessment using benthic macroinvertebrates and chemical tests. Together, we completed an initial assessment of water quality in White Oak Creek. Now it is time to research your own local watershed.
Step 1:
To prepare for your assignment,
Ensure you have completed the Water Quality Monitoring virtual lab.
Begin by visiting the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s webpage How’s My Water way Links to an external site., and follow these steps:
Read over the main page to familiarize yourself with the site.
Move your cursor to the “How’s My Waterway?” widget on the page and type in your current home address. (If that does not work for any reason, or if you are currently stationed overseas, just choose a previous home address or the home address of a family member for this assignment.)
Click the Go button.
In the page that appears, you will see a map that includes a region surrounded by a dashed line. That shows your local watershed. To find the name of the watershed, hover before the list of water bodies next to the map. Your watershed’s name will be italicized.
Now, use the website to research your watershed. Find the stream, pond, or other water body closest to your home that is marked by different colors. If the closest water body is unmarked, follow it downstream to the first section that is marked.
Is your closest water body good, impaired, or condition unknown? If it is impaired, click on it, and a box will appear with more information. For what uses is it impaired? For more details about that use, click on the listed uses for their definitions, and click on the lighter i in the darker circle for more details about that particular use. The box may also include information about the sources of impairment.
You can click on their labels to read more about them, including a definition and what you can do to help with that issue. Finally, at the bottom of the box, you will see this option: View Waterbody Report. Click on the hyperlink to get further details about this water body, including plans in place to protect or restore water quality (click on any hyperlinks to view these plans). Record all the pertinent information in your notes; you will use this to write up your report.
Step 2:
Next, follow your local water body downstream until it joins the biggest stream or river in your watershed—the main river into which all the other tributaries flow. (If your local stream flows into a lake, use that instead. If your local water body is a small pond or lake, zoom out to find the closest large lake in your area instead.) Click on that larger river or lake to pull up the same information as you did for your nearest water body, above. Record all pertinent information in your notes.
Step 3:
Finally, see what else you can learn about your watershed online. Using the name of your major river or lake, do an internet search for “[name or river or lake] water quality”. You might also go to Google News and do the same search there. Maybe your river or lake has been in the news either due to cleanup efforts or because of new contamination events. Finally, try an internet search for “[name of river or lake] organizations.” Are there any nonprofit groups working to protect your watershed? If so, what are their names, what do they do, and how might volunteers get involved?
WRITE
Now, you are ready to write your Watershed Status Report. In your essay,
Describe your watershed.
Name your watershed.
State where the watershed is located in the United States.
Discuss what the water quality is like for the closest water body to your home. Make sure to include all the details shared in the preparation section.
Describe what the water quality is for the largest river or lake in or near your watershed. Make sure to include all the details shared in the preparation section.
Explain your overall assessment of the water quality in your watershed.
Explain any plans and steps that are needed to protect the water quality in your watershed.
Discuss what plans have been put in place to protect or restore water quality for your local water body and the watershed.
Summarize what additional steps you think should be taken to address any water quality impairments present in your watershed.
Provide information about any organizations active in your watershed working to safeguard local water quality, including what they do and how volunteers can get involved.
Discuss the latest news stories, if any, about the health of your watershed.
You will submit two documents to Waypoint. One should be your completed Lab Worksheet and the other should be your Water Quality Monitoring Laboratory essay. Together these two documents are worth 5% of your class grade.
The Water Quality Monitoring Laboratory Follow-Up Assignment essay,
must be 2 to 4 double-spaced pages in length (not including title and references pages) and formatted according to APA StyleLinks to an external site. as outlined in the Writing Center’s APA Formatting for Microsoft WordLinks to an external site.
must include a separate title page with the following in title case:
title of essay in bold font
Space should appear between the title and the rest of the information on the title page.
student’s name
name of institution (The University of Arizona Global Campus)
course name and number
instructor’s name
due date
must utilize academic voice.
Refer to the Academic VoiceLinks to an external site. resource for additional guidance.
must include an introduction and conclusion paragraph.
Your introduction paragraph needs to end with a clear thesis statement that indicates the purpose of your paper.
For assistance on writing Introductions & ConclusionsLinks to an external site. and Writing a Thesis StatementLinks to an external site., refer to the Writing Center resources.
must use at least 1 scholarly source, one credible source, and the course text, for 3 sources total.
The Scholarly, Peer-Reviewed, and Other Credible SourcesLinks to an external site. table offers additional guidance on appropriate source types. If you have questions about whether a specific source is appropriate for this assignment, please contact your instructor. Your instructor has the final say about the appropriateness of a specific source.
To assist you in completing the research required for this assignment, review this Quick and Easy Library ResearchLinks to an external site. tutorial, which introduces the University of Arizona Global Campus Library and the research process, and provides some library search tips.
must document any information used from sources in APA Style as outlined in the Writing Center’s APA: Citing Within Your PaperLinks to an external site.
must include a separate references page that is formatted according to APA Style as outlined in the Writing Center.
Refer to the APA: Formatting Your References ListLinks to an external site. resource in the Writing Center for specifications.
Note: (By the way, at this point you might be wondering, “What data are available for White Oak Creek in Chattahoochee Hills?” To satisfy your curiosity, feel free to type “Hamilton Road, Chattahoochee Hills, GA” into the “How’s My Waterway?” widget. Click on the White Oak Creek segment next to Hamilton Road. What does it reveal? Is this information surprising? Why or why not?)
