Northern Commencement Academy

Presents Genesee GREEN

Global Rivers Environmental\

Educational Network (GREEN) was

developed by:

Dr. Mark Mitchell to teach students water

quality monitoring.

For the last 16 years, students at Northern

have been monitoring the Flint River.

•

The Flint River drains 1332 sq mi (3450 km²) of Michigan, throughout the counties of Lapeer, Genesee, Shiawassee, and Saginaw. It also drains parts of Oakland, Tuscola, and Sanilac.

.

•

The Flint River is 142 mi (229 km) long, it empties into the Lake Huron Lake Erie Corridor and then into the Atlantic Ocean.

• Since water is so important to all living things you would probably expect for the world’s water to be almost unlimited.

• The truth is, we only have 0.007% of fresh water available to us since 70% of fresh water is frozen in the polar icecaps.

• 27% of global run-off is renewable ground water & base river flow, the rest is flood water, and it’s very hard to capture.

• Currently 30% of the world’s renewable fresh water is being use by 6 billion people, by the year 2025, it may increase to 70%.

• Billions of people lack basic water service & millions die each year from water related diseases such as diarrhea, malaria, and typhoid.

• The need for water is so important that it should be acknowledged as a top international priority.

Test Results (Mill Rd./Flushing Rd.) & (Linden Rd./Flushing Rd.)

“Total Values”• We did the Dissolved Oxygen test to see how much

oxygen was in the river. (Mill 13.94) + (Linden 16.15)

• Fecal Coliform was conducted to see if the river had been contaminated by any sewage of some sort (E.coli). (Mill 9.28) + (Linden 9.76)

• The pH test was conducted to see if there was a dangerous amount of acid in the water, a pH of 6 to 8 is good. (Mill 9.35) + (Linden 10.12)

• The B.O.D tests how much oxygen is being used by living things in the water. (Mill 10.34) + (Linden 9.9)

• The Temperature was taken, because at high temperatures there is more plant growth and bacterial decomposition. (Mill 9.1) + (Linden 9.1)

• Total Phosphorus was taken because, like nitrogen this can increase plant growth which will eventually decrease aquatic life. (Mill 9.7) + (Linden 9.7)

• Nitrates: nitrogen is a fertilizer and it will increase plant grow and will lead to low - oxygen levels. (Mill 9.8) + (Linden 9.8)

• Turbidity was conducted since most sun rays get blocked from reaching deeper plants when the water is turbid, which can decrease their photosynthesis. (Mill 6.72) + (Linden 6.72)

• Total Solids: low concentrations of solids will limit the growth of things in the water. (Mill 2.66) + (Linden 1.4)

Our River Grading Scale

• Before the treatment plant the river gets a good B.

• But after the treatment plant the river gets a better B (yay)!

References

• www.geneseegreen.org

• www.scilinks.org Code: HK4113

• www.globalchange.umich.edu

• Explore Our Natural World

Appel & Craves

Special Thanks to:

• Flint River Water Shed Coalition

• Ms. Sharon Sawyer from GM

• Our Principals Mr. Fred White & Ms. Lynn Jenkins

• Mott Community College

• Dr. Bill Welch from (GISD)