Purpose

This project was conducted in the Advanced Chemistry class at Lynden High School. Groups of students were allowed to conduct an open-ended project in order to gain more knowledge of chemistry. This group, composed of Andy Aley, Drew Jones, Gail Kornelis, and Mike Gross choose to study the nitrate, conductivity, and pH levels of Bertrand Creek. Betrand Creek is a local stream that runs into Whatcom County from Canada.

The purpose of this project was to study and record the level of nitrates in Betrand Creek at two locations. Also studied was the temperature, conductivity, and pH.

We took samples from two locations. The northern location is very near the Canadian border, at H Street Road. The southern location is on Birch Bay Lynden Road. The H Street samples were taken from a bridge crossing over the road, the Birch Bay Lynden Road samples were taken at a point were the stream runs through an area surrounded mostly by berry fields, a private landfill (picture included) is also very close to this location.