Laserfiche WebLink
0080 r IN <br />Suspended solids are the organic and inorganic particulate matter in <br />water and are an important transportation mechanism for micro - organisms and <br />suspended chemical constituents such as trace elements. Suspended solids also <br />interfere with recreational use, aesthetic enjoyment, biological activity, and <br />water treatment. Large concentrations of suspended solids can impair the use <br />of water for irrigation because of formation of crusts on top of the soil, <br />which can inhibit water infiltration, plant emergence, and soil aeration (U.S. <br />Environmental Protection Agency, 1976, p. 212). <br />Water - quality data in this report are summarized in illustrations that <br />use minimum, 25th - percentile, median, mean, 75th - percentile, and maximum <br />values. Water - quality data for the period of record are summarized in the <br />"Supplemental Data" section in the back of this report using the mean, <br />standard deviation, median, and interquartile range (75th percentile -25th <br />percentile). Water- quality data collected on Fountain and Monument Creeks <br />were not normally distributed. Therefore, the significance in differences of <br />water - quality data that occurred between sites was tested, unless otherwise <br />noted, using the Wilcoxon rank -sum nonparametric test (SAS Institute, Inc., <br />1982). Because the water - quality data are not normally distributed, the mean <br />and standard deviation do not accurately represent the variation in the data. <br />However, the mean and standard deviation are included in tables 3 through 6 in <br />the "Supplemental Data" section at the back of this report; this information <br />provides the reader a means of comparing water - quality data to the mean plus <br />one standard deviation water- quality criteria established by the Colorado <br />Department of Health (1982) for numeric water - quality standards. <br />Fountain Creek <br />Water temperature, specific conductance, pH, BOD dissolved oxygen, and <br />suspended solids were measured at nine sites on Fountain Creek between 1975 <br />and 1983. The period of record for the collection of water - quality data at <br />the sites varies (table 2). Water temperature, specific conductance, pH, and <br />dissolved oxygen were measured monthly at each site when water - quality samples <br />were collected. Additional measurements of water temperature and specific <br />conductance were made in conjunction with streamflow measurements at those <br />sites that had streamflow gages (fig. 1). <br />Water Temperature <br />Measurements of instantaneous water temperature were made during daylight <br />hours, and they indicate that substantial variations occur at every site on <br />Fountain Creek (fig. 10). Water temperature generally undergoes a diel fluc- <br />tuation, especially during the warmer months. Therefore, water - temperature <br />measurements probably are somewhat warmer than the true mean daily water <br />temperature. <br />19 <br />