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Climate Detectives Projects 2023-2024

Project title: Climate/Environmental impact of construction on river water quality

De La Salle College Waterford   Waterford   Ireland

Research question

What are the effects of the North Quays construction project on the River Suir’s water quality and if it may have an environmental effect.

Summary of the project

As part of our climate detectives project, we decided to investigate what effect the construction of the Waterford North Quays would have on the River Suir’s water quality. We carried out our investigation by…

We firstly started off our experiment by collecting our water samples in glass jars at a total of four locations – two locations before the point of construction and two locations upstream the points of construction.
As we took our samples we also noted the following: the tide, the time of day, and the weather of the day we took the samples as these can all effect the water quality. We then took the samples back to the labs in our school and carried out a pH test of the water to compare it to a freshwater river as the Suir is tidal and also compare it to the normal readings and regulated standards of another tidal river to see if it’s at a normal reading.
We also conducted a dissolved oxygen test in the school labs where we got some of our samples, calibrated the meter and then inserted it into the water to get a reading. We also conducted total suspended and dissolved solids test as another method of measuring water quality. We conducted the suspended solids test by taking our water sample and filtering, collecting the residue and weighing it. We then took the filtrate and evaporated the rest of the water, leaving us with our dissolved solids – the combined weight of both left us with total weight, which we took from all samples.

Main results and Conclusions

What are the effects of the North Quays construction project on the River Suir’s water quality and if it may have an environmental effect.

From our investigation into the construction of The North Quays and the effect it’s having on the River Suir’s water quality, we were able to conclude that the construction was not in fact harming the water. We took dissolved oxygen tests and pH tests of the water and compared the results we got to normal levels for a tidal river and we noted no significant differences.
However we did notice there was a slight change in pH during rising & high tides.
Upon inspection and analysis of our results we were able to conclude that the construction of the North Quays did not impact the water quality of the Suir. We were able to make this conclusion as the average of a tidal river’s temperature is 11.2C (reference from our linked sources) . We did make an observation and it was when the tide was in the pH of the water was slightly higher than what it was when the tide was out. 7.83pH (high tide) 7.97 (low tide) (reference from our results).

What’s Next? Actions to make a difference and help lessen the problem

The ways we can make a difference are as follows:
Contact the council to conduct routine water testing around the building site to ensure no site run-off water is going directly into the water untreated. What we can get from this is ensuring the river’s pH stays at a safe level and any aquatic present is protected.
We can contact the environmental officer to conduct inspections on the site to ensure all environmental precautions are adhered to too.
We can also ask Waterford City Council to construct/plant river banks along the River Suir in the Ferrybank side to help improve biodiversity around the water. On a personal level, other actions such as using/implementing proper waste/disposal areas, participating in weekly cleanups and ensuring proper home water usage can prevent/minimize the risk of runoff or pollution into our rivers, protecting the local ecosystem and environment.

Projects are created by the teams and they take the full responsibility of the shared data.
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