Why do we care about the pH of our streams?
Most aquatic animals and plants have adapted a specific pH range (usually between 6 and 8). Even a small change may irritate fish and insect gills and may affect hatching success of their eggs. Very acidic water (pH below about 4) will kill most fish and insects. Changes in pH can also affect how toxic other chemicals in water may be. For example, ammonia is fairly harmless to fish if the water is slightly acidic, but can be very toxic to fish at higher pH levels.
Acid precipitation can cause such low pH that nothing will grow in the lake.
East Canyon’s watershed “buffers” the rainfall, protecting streams and lakes from low pH.
How do human activities affect the pH in water?
Acid precipitation: The main causes of acid precipitation are sulfuric acid (produced by coal burning industries) and nitric acid (produced by automobile engines). In Utah, these acids are often neutralized when the rain or snow melt soaks through our soils before reaching streams. If snow or rain runs off directly, streams may get a dose of low pH water.
Abandoned mines: Exposed rock from old mining operations can produce acidic runoff, which can be extremely harmful to stream life.
Of course, anything that gets sent down a storm drain or runs off the land into a stream can affect the water. To protect our streams, never dump cleaning products or any other toxic materials on streets or directly into a storm drain!