Streams healthy in third year of monitoring

Aquatic life in Whitewood Creek continues to flourish downstream of the Sanford Underground Laboratory, according to initial results from the lab?s third annual biomonitoring project.

?We?ve discharged 1.9 billion gallons of water down the creek,? Sanford Lab Environmental Manager John Scheetz said. ?That?s a lot of water. If we were impacting the stream, you?d see it.?

GEI Consultants from Denver, Colo., an independent environmental monitoring firm, conducted the tests at five stream sites. Two were on Gold Run Creek?one upstream from the lab?s discharge point and one downstream. Three sites were on Whitewood Creek?one upstream from the confluence of Gold Run Creek and Whitewood Creek and two downstream of the confluence. Sanford Lab discharges its water into Gold Run Creek, about a quarter mile from Whitewood Creek.

GEI examined fish populations, aquatic insects, algae, habitat quality and water chemistry.

The team used an electrofishing device to temporarily stun fish to count, weigh and measure them. They found brook trout, brown trout and long-nosed dace in approximately the same numbers upstream and downstream in Whitewood Creek. (There were no fish in Gold Run Creek, which does not have the habitat or stream flow to support fish.)

GEI also measured and characterized algae and ?macroinvertebrates??i.e., insects such as stoneflies and mayflies. ?These bugs are fish food,? Scheetz said. ?They?re more sensitive to pollution than the fish.? Algae tell a story, too. ?Ultimately, you?re looking for good diversity.?

Although fish populations were slightly smaller at the downstream sites, the fish themselves were longer and fatter than the upstream fish. ?The upstream and downstream sites were similar, and the overall health of the stream appears to be very good,? Scheetz said.