NNWB's First Water Quality Monitoring Site

Neighbors of the Northwest Branch has undertaken a new Audubon Naturalist Society (ANS) Water Quality Monitoring Site. It's in the Northwest Branch near Kemp Mill Road just south of Randolph Road. We will follow the ANS survey protocol four times a year in order to identify which benthic macroinvertebrates (primarily bottom dwelling insect larvae) live there. The types and numbers present are good indicators of the water quality. Variety and large numbers especially from the insect orders of mayflies, stoneflies, and caddisflies, referred to as the EPT index, are desirable because they would indicate low pollutant levels and high levels of oxygen in the water. Take a look at what we found!

The Monitoring Team: left to right, Gretchen Schwartz, Phillip Capon, Charlie Dorian, and Jewel Barlow. Team member Glenn Welch is not pictured. Someone had to TAKE the picture, after all.

A scud or amphipod with eggs. This may not be a great find, but under stress she sure held onto those eggs--assuming that's not the male. Glenn found the behavior very interesting.

An Aquatic Dance Fly. More pictures to come as the team continues monitoring.