Water
It's not an exaggeration to say that Raleigh's greenway system is built around water - most trails run along streams and around lakes.
We sampled a variety of parameters in the rivers and streams adjacent to the trails ...
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Physical Parameters |
Nutrients |
Dissolved oxygen, pH, and temperature were all within ranges considered acceptable by the NC Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
Turbidity of the water exceeded acceptable standards at all sampling locations in the Neuse River on both sampling dates, as well as several sites along other creeks. This indicates potential soil erosion issues and can block sunlight plants need for photosynthesis. |
No nitrates were registered by the test strips at any of the sites we sampled.
Phosphates registered from 0 - 15 parts-per-million, with most sites measuring 5 ppm or less. The high value of 15 ppm was in the Neuse River near the Johnston County line. |
This effort is a collaboration among NC State University; Raleigh Parks, Recreation, & Cultural Resources; the Nature Research Center of the NC Museum of Natural Sciences; and WakeNature Preserves Partnership. This effort is being led and conducted by students in a course on Natural Resources Measurements at NC State University.