Center for Water and the Environment

Big Chico Creek Water Quality Monitoring

Main | Data TableTemperatureElectrical Conductivity pH Dissolved OxygenTurbidityNutrients Metals

Disclaimer: Data presented on this webpage were acquired following internal (non-standard) procedures and are therefore for information purposes only and not citable until independent peer review and publication.

Nutrients

Why is it important to monitor nitrate and phosphate?

Resource: Water Resources - Nutrient and Eutrophication (USGS)

Nutrients naturally occur in water, but too many nutrients, mainly nitrate and phosphate, create algal blooms which lead to eutrophication. Eutrophication occurs during the die-off of the algae and subsequent bacterial degradation that uses dissolved oxygen and produces CO2, resulting in low dissolved oxygen concentrations which can be fatal. Storm runoff and wastewater are primary sources of excess nitrate and phosphate.

Phosphate and Streamflow in Big Chico Creek

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phosphate and streamflow in big chico creek over a one year period

*one phosphate outlier was removed from the visual and can be located on the data table: 10/12/2021, 1.65 mg/L


Nitrate and Streamflow in Big Chico Creek

nitrate graph legend

nitrate and streamflow in big chico creek over a one year period