A Survey of Halfway Creek, La Crosse County, Wisconsin to Determine Temperatures, Nitrate-Nitrogen, Nitrite-Nitrogen, Ortho-Phosphate, and Sediment Present in the Creek

File(s)
Date
1972Author
Hoffman, Robert R.
Advisor(s)
Claflin, Thomas O.
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
The concentration of nitrate-nitrogen, nitrite-nitrogen,
and ortho phosphate were determined from samples
taken at six different locations, every two weeks for a
year, on Halfway Creek in La Crosse County, Wisconsin. The
temperature and the amount of sedimentation were also recorded
for each station. The sampling and analysis began
July 22, 1971 and ended June 28, 1972. The six stations
were located between the mouth of Halfway Creek on Lake
Onalaska and a point about two miles downstream from its
source in the coulee.
The results show a considerable variation in the
amounts of nitrate, nitrite, and phosphate present at
different times of the year and at the different locations
on the stream. The average ortho phosphate level of the
stream was 1.82 ppm, with very high levels recorded in the
spring. The nitrate level of Halfway Creek was highest in
the farmland near its source, decreasing as it moved toward
its mouth. The average amount of nitrate present in the
entire stream for the year was about 34 ppm. The nitrite
level averaged 0.112 ppm over the entire stream for the
measuring per oid. Sedimentation was very low with very
little suspended material leaving the stream at its mouth
in Lake Onalaska. While most of the temperatures recorded
produced characteristic results, those recorded at the mouth of the stream were exceptions. They were generally
lower than the next two stations upstream because of large
amounts of water entering the stream just before it empties
into the lake.
Subject
Halfway Creek (La Crosse County, Wis.)
Water -- Pollution -- Wisconsin -- La Crosse County