Northern Commencement Academy Presents Genesee GREEN

Global Rivers Environmental\ Educational Network (GREEN) was developed by: Dr. Mark Mitchell to teach students water quality monitoring. For the last 16 years, students at Northern have been monitoring the Flint River.

The Flint River drains 1332 sq mi (3450 km²) of Michigan, throughout the counties of Lapeer, Genesee, Shiawassee, and Saginaw. It also drains parts of Oakland, Tuscola, and Sanilac..

The Flint River is 142 mi (229 km) long, it empties into the Lake Huron Lake Erie Corridor and then into the Atlantic Ocean.

Since water is so important to all living things you would probably expect for the world’s water to be almost unlimited. The truth is, we only have 0.007% of fresh water available to us since 70% of fresh water is frozen in the polar icecaps.

27% of global run-off is renewable ground water & base river flow, the rest is flood water, and it’s very hard to capture. Currently 30% of the world’s renewable fresh water is being use by 6 billion people, by the year 2025, it may increase to 70%.

Billions of people lack basic water service & millions die each year from water related diseases such as diarrhea, malaria, and typhoid. The need for water is so important that it should be acknowledged as a top international priority.

Test Results (Mill Rd./Flushing Rd.) & (Linden Rd./Flushing Rd.) “Total Values” We did the Dissolved Oxygen test to see how much oxygen was in the river. (Mill 13.94) + (Linden 16.15) Fecal Coliform was conducted to see if the river had been contaminated by any sewage of some sort (E.coli). (Mill 9.28) + (Linden 9.76) The pH test was conducted to see if there was a dangerous amount of acid in the water, a pH of 6 to 8 is good. (Mill 9.35) + (Linden 10.12)

The B.O.D tests how much oxygen is being used by living things in the water. (Mill 10.34) + (Linden 9.9) The Temperature was taken, because at high temperatures there is more plant growth and bacterial decomposition. (Mill 9.1) + (Linden 9.1) Total Phosphorus was taken because, like nitrogen this can increase plant growth which will eventually decrease aquatic life. (Mill 9.7) + (Linden 9.7)

Nitrates: nitrogen is a fertilizer and it will increase plant grow and will lead to low - oxygen levels. (Mill 9.8) + (Linden 9.8) Turbidity was conducted since most sun rays get blocked from reaching deeper plants when the water is turbid, which can decrease their photosynthesis. (Mill 6.72) + (Linden 6.72) Total Solids: low concentrations of solids will limit the growth of things in the water. (Mill 2.66) + (Linden 1.4)

Our River Grading Scale Before the treatment plant the river gets a good B. But after the treatment plant the river gets a better B (yay)!

References Code: HK4113www.scilinks.org Explore Our Natural World Appel & Craves

Special Thanks to: Flint River Water Shed Coalition Ms. Sharon Sawyer from GM Our Principals Mr. Fred White & Ms. Lynn Jenkins Mott Community College Dr. Bill Welch from (GISD)