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water in Salt Creek is substantially different than that of the main Platte River. Differences in the <br />water quality are directly related to the physio - chemical properties of the lands upstream of the <br />sampling stations. Salt Creek, as the name implies, drains an area noted for its unique salt <br />marshes. Much of the rest of the Platte River Basin and the Elkhorn River Basin drain the <br />sandhill region of western and northern Nebraska. Salt Creek is also highly modified by <br />channelization and has levees forming its banks for much of its length. The Elkhorn River, while <br />also modified in many areas, has a much wider river bed and flood plain associated with its lower <br />reaches. Given the shallow, turbid nature of the lower Platte River and its tributaries, it is not <br />surprising that there are rapid fluctuations in water temperature. Additionally, the large inputs of <br />suspended sediments in the spring coincide with planting season in the predominantly <br />agricultural watershed. Snowmelt runoff and the spring rains move substantial amounts of fine <br />sediment from the fields into the streams and rivers. <br />To better understand the forces driving the changes in the water quality parameters, it will <br />be important to integrate the information collected in this study with land use data and river <br />discharge data available through the U. S. Geological Survey. As we develop a better <br />understanding of the changing condition of the water as it flows over and through the lands and <br />down the waterways of the lower Platte River Basin, we may be able to predict more accurately <br />the effect various management practices have on the native fish populations of the Platte River <br />and overall basin ecosystem in general. <br />DATA BASE DEVELOPMENT <br />The framework for a relational database has been developed for Microsoft Access. The <br />17 <br />