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City of Boulder/USGS Water Quality Monitoring
Interpretation of Boulder Creek Watershed Turbidity Data
by Sheila Murphy

TURBIDITY

Turbidity was not measured in samples from Boulder Canyon and downstream from 1998-2000; it was considered similar enough to total suspended solids (TSS) to not warrant an additional analysis. Analysis of turbidity for these sites began in January 2001. Therefore, an analysis of the stream profile can not yet be done.

NBC-Lw in 1999

There are turbidity data for the source water sampling sites (e.g, Middle Boulder Creek above the Barker weir (MBCaW) and North Boulder Creek at Lakewood Reservoir (NBC-Lw). Turbidity at these sites generally ranged from zero to 4 nephelometric turbidity units (NTUs). Turbidity often increases during spring runoff, because faster moving water can carry more sediment (see NBC-Lw in 1999.

Standar
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COMPARISON TO REGULATIONS

Turbidity regulations established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) vary depending on individual water treatment systems. For those regulations, see the U.S. EPA Office of Water’s Current Drinking Water Standards; http://www.epa.gov/safewater/mcl.html)

Select here for general information about Turbidity.

Select here for interpretation of other water
quality data in the Boulder Creek Watershed

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Last Page Update - Monday April 23, 2007