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2021 Shell Creek Watershed Research Group

Newman Grove Advisors: Mark Seier, Kylie Sweeter, Andrea Miller, and Brett Miller

Lakeview Advisor: Emilye Yowell

Schuyler Advisor: Casey Harper

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(with Township-Range Labels)

Shell Creek and Loseke-Taylor Creek Watersheds

Lower Platte North Natural Resources District

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Lakeview Site & Map

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Schuyler Map

  • Middle of Summer
    • Highest numbers
  • Other testing sites
  • Graph
  • Working on including drone more next year
  • Well testing is our main focus

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Fecal Coliform

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Fecal Coliform

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June 24 data was overange (above 24196)

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Schuyler Graph

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Lakeview Graph

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  • Noticed high amounts of E.Coli at the Platte Center location
  • Highest numbers were recorded throughout the middle of the summer with levels dropping off in August
  • Plan to add a testing site next year

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Schuyler

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W.Q.I.

  • The Water Quality Index was developed by the National Sanitation Foundation as a standard system to compare different bodies of water.
  • To determine the WQI, a series of nine tests were performed. These tests were: dissolved oxygen, fecal coliform, pH, Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD), temperature, total phosphate, nitrates, turbidity, and total solids. We also did a water discharge test which we use to measure the flow of the creek in cubic feet per second.

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  • After the tests are completed, the WQI for each section of the creek can be computed.
  • To formulate the WQI, we first computed Q-values.
  • We multiply this number by a weighting factor, which provides a measure of the relative importance of each test to overall water quality.
  • The water quality index ranges from zero to 100.

- 0 - 25 is very bad

- 25 - 50 is bad

- 50 - 70 is medium

- 70 - 90 is good

- 90 - 100 is excellent

  • The bio-indicator and water discharge tests are not part of the W.Q.I., but do give us a water quality rating.

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Sample W.Q.I. Form

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Overall Water Quality Index ___

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Sample W.Q.I. Curve Chart

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The higher the change, the worse the water quality.

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The higher the concentration, the worse the water quality.

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Phosphate Averages Throughout the Years

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Nitrates

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Fecal Coliform

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Site’s 2 and 4 are at 0 ppm

**Red Line is at 100**

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Site 3

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Putting the Shell Back into the Shell Creek

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ONP Aerial Drone Pictures

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Shell Creek Drone Pictures

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Site 1

Site 5

Site 4

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Thank You To:

  • Lower Platte North Natural Resources District

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  • Natural Resource Conservation Service

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  • Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy

  • Shell Creek Watershed Improvement Group

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  • Chris Poole

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  • Area Land Owners

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  • United States Geographical Survey

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  • University of Nebraska Extension Service

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  • Newman Grove Public Schools, Lakeview Public Schools, and Schuyler Public Schools

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  • Nebraska Loves Public Schools

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Website

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