Back Creek Clarity Ends On Bright Clear Note

Rockin’ great news on Back Creek in Eastport – water clarity hits season high: 1.25 m.

That’s WQ Crew member Karen (at right) recording the big clarity event with the Secchi Disc in Jones Cove on our last day of water quality monitoring for the 2021 season.

SRA’s water quality monitoring program is a robust, river-wide program.

Our volunteers and staff collect data every week from 51 stations, from Lake Ogleton and Meredith Creek all the way up river to our Indian Landing station between Pointfield Landing and Ben Oaks Communities.

On this final tour in Back Creek, our WQ Crew members – Debra, Ann, Karen and Tom – collect water quality data to prove the Haldan Homogeneous Hypothesis – that when water temps fall below a certain temp (less that 16 degrees C), there is no stratification in the water column.

The cold weather crew:

Once the homogeneous state sets in, there are no more layers of cold salty water below warmer, fresher water layers. Oxygen, salinity levels are virtually the same from bottom to surface. At this point, algae activity stops, which accounts for the great clarity during the winter.

Wanna be part of the action on the river? Join SRA’s Water Quality Crew. We set sail in April 2022.

For details, email info@severniver.org and put WQ Crew in the message box.