Date of Award

3-2024

Degree Name

MS in Environmental Sciences and Management

Department

Natural Resources Management

College

College of Agriculture, Food, and Environmental Sciences

Advisor

Christopher Surfleet

Advisor Department

Natural Resources Management

Advisor College

College of Agriculture, Food, and Environmental Sciences

Abstract

Water quality was assessed in five stream segments in San Luis Obispo and Stenner Creeks in Spring of 2023. Two of the five sites were located along San Luis Obispo Creek, and three located along Stenner Creek. Criteria to evaluate these aquatic systems was provided by the Standard Operating Procedures of the Surface Water Ambient Monitoring Program, formulated by the State Water Resources Control Board. These procedures describe the methodology surrounding the collection of chemical, physical, and biological parameters of stream systems; streamflow, substrate, flow habitat, chemical water quality, and benthic macroinvertebrates are some of the criteria collected that allows for the quantification of the California Stream Condition Index (CSCI). The Stream Measurements and Water Quality Monitoring Course at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, provided student labor for the collection and organization of data. Based on CSCI scores, water quality of the five-stream segments ranged from “Likely Altered” to “Very Likely Altered.”

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