Thinking Out Loud: Infrastructural Development and the Protection of Aquatic Ecosystem.

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In order to live, the human, as well as all living organisms, are driven to coexist in communities. The primary form of organization that permits existence is the ecosystem. Composed by living organisms called biotic components and nonliving chemical and physical parts of the environment called abiotic components, the ecosystem links these two factors through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Plant tissue and light play a significant role in the initial movement of energy flow sequence because energy enters the system through photosynthesis. A relation that turbidity monitory guard, looking for ways to protect aquatic ecosystems from the impact by human hand.

Marine and freshwater ecosystems are the main types of aquatic ecosystems. Depending on their conditions, bodies of water provide housing for different types of biotic and abiotic components.All ecosystems are affected and controlled by internal and external factors. Topography, soil,  climate are some of the elements that control the structure of an ecosystem, but are not influenced by the ecosystem. Instead, internal factors like decomposition, root competition, disturbance, shading, and the species present on that space do affect the ecosystem as a whole.  Therefore, you can imagine ecosystems as dynamic entities with the power to recover from disturbances in their balance and the strength to recover from different disorders given at different times. 

Aquatic ecosystems are in constant threat by human hand: unsustainable exploitation of its resources, microplastic, marine, and water pollution; as well as the land development near streams and the coast can yield significant harm to its natural system.

Looking for protecting the natural ecosystem of a body of water near or on a construction developing area, the turbidity monitoring system was designed.

The fundamental parts of this protection method are light and suspended sediment in the water. That’s when turbidity enters the game. Turbidity is the measurement of water clarity; and is used to calculate how much-suspended sediments (like clay, soil, and others) enter the waters around an intervened site.  The depth determines clarity that sunlight penetrates the water. Not only soil and mud are considered pollutants but also heavy metals, bacteria, pesticides, and other contaminants. A high number of suspended particles can cut down on the depth of light penetration through the water affecting the vegetation growing in the water, and that can affect the ecosystem on the water body.

Turbid water can provide data concerning the health or well-being of the water body itself. The appearance of high turbidity does not necessarily mean the water body is suffering; that is why it is good to have in hand historical data of the site to track any significant event.

There are different ways to monitor turbidity in aquatic ecosystems. Still, the one followed by San Diego Project Management, PSC in the Dorado Bridge Flood Control, is using a coliwasa sampler of approximately 14 feet of length and two clean 32 oz plastic bottles to extract the sample from the river. Once the samples are collected, it’s transferred to a 10 ml test bottles for analysis. A portable turbidimeter (Extech TB400) is used to perform the analysis. The two samples collected are: one in the surface and in the mid-depth of the river. (source from: The Turbidity Monitoring Reports template made by Jaziel Martínez)

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The portable turbidimeter design allows you to take measurements on-site instead of bringing the samples back to the lab. Measures up to 1000 NTU (Nephelometric Turbidity Unit) with 0.01 NTU resolution.

(source from: https://www.tester.co.uk/extech-tb400-portable-turbidity-meter)

It is impossible not to impact the clarity of the water when there is construction taking place around the body of water. Still, studies like this one provide information that helps the engineers protect the aquatic ecosystem as much as is possible. If the ecosystem is suffering a real disturbance, the project must be stopped, and other options to continue the works must be considered. San Diego Project Management, PSC cares about protecting our natural resources. That’s why we share this information on how an engineering project provides the benefits of infrastructure development with the less possible impact

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