Overall
Score Components-Average
combined scores (0-100) for water chemistry, sediment
quality, recreation, aesthetics, habitat and aquatic life.
Creek ratings are as follows:
Very Bad (0-12)
Bad (13-25)
Poor (26-37)
Marginal (38-50)
Fair (51-62)
Good (63-75)
Very Good (76-87)
Excellent (88-100)
Aesthetics-Rates general appeal of a site based
on water appearance, litter, odor, clarity, and percent
algae cover.
Aquatic
Life-Evaluates the quality
of the benthic macroinvertebrate (bug) and diatom (algae)
communities.
Habitat-Includes
aquatic cover, sediment accumulation, channel alteration
and flow status, frequency of riffles, and riparian zone
condition.
Recreation-
Uses E. Coli bacteria concentrations as an indicator of
safety for swimming or wading.
Sediment
Quality- Assesses the quality
of sediment collected from the mouth of each creek using
metals, PAHs, PCBs, and organochlorine pesticides.
Water
Chemistry- Tests water samples
for E. Coli, nitrate-nitrogen, total suspended solids, conductivity,
orthophosphorous, and ammonia-nitrogen.
