Analysis of Chloride and TDS Levels along the Buffalo Bayou, Jacob, Marian; Eapen, Jeffery
College of Science and Mathematics
The chloride measurement is a measure of the amount of chloride deposit found in water. This value can be indicative of pollution in the water. The data indicates Chloride levels to be lower at a certain undisturbed location at Gayhills with a mean value of 0.8. At the other undisturbed location, Mayde Creek, the Chloride levels were off the charts at a mean value of 173.5. Further investigation should be conducted to understand the reason for the high values at Mayde Creek. Further down the buffalo bayou the levels begin to increase in the Ship channel and substantially at Galveston Bay but remain stable in Arboretum water sources. The ranges of the values vary from close to far. The range for the entire Buffalo Bayou was 4006.7 indicating a wide distribution of chloride values throughout the bayou.
TDS is a measurement of the total dissolved solids in a sample of water. A high concentration of ions indicates that a body of water is polluted or heavily contaminated. The Environmental Protection Agency has set certain TDS parameters for bodies of water to comply under. The objective of this research is to measure and analyze water samples along the Buffalo Bayou and test whether or not the TDS levels increase as one goes down the bayou, starting from Mayde Creek to the Galveston Bay. According to our results, it appears that as one goes along the bayou, the total dissolved solids concentration increases. The Galveston Bay had the highest level of TDS while Mayde Creek had the lowest level of TDS.
