East Fork of Poplar Creek
Hoffman Estates, Illinois, United States
Small creek just across from St. Alexuis Medical Center off of Barrington Road in the Barrington Pond Forest Preserve, Hoffman Estates, ILL.
Low water level due to drought, but the creek was flowing. Normally I see fish and frogs there but not this time. Interesting that the Chloride count was so high. We have not had any snow yet, so the streets have not been salted since last season. I suspect the test strip may not be good. It was left over from last season.
Location created by
Ron Haimbaugh
- Group: National Great Rivers : Winter Chloride Watch
- Lat: 42.0539989
- Lng: -88.144941
- Waterbody Type: Creek
- Timezone: America/Chicago
Latest photos
Most of February had been quite cold and I was concerned the creek would be totally frozen. Fortunately the last couple of days had temps above freezing. There was a gap in the ice just large enough for me to drop the sampling pail into. Since I took the sample last week, we have had warmer weather, but who knew.
Water level was low with ice covering the Western side under the bridge. Ducks and Robbins were bathing in the creek.
Water level was low, but flowing.
I routinely test for fertilizer runoff at this site but have yet to find any. I suspect the kits I am using are not sensitive enough. I have been testing for Nitrate, Nitride, Ammonia, and Phosphate. The Phosphate kit I have is supposed to be a pretty good one (Chemets) and is much more than test strips. I am even filtering the water but the results always come back clear, or green. Clear would indicate no phosphates. If phosphates were present the results should be a shade of blue. I also tested in Iowa and had the same results - inconclusive. Next season I may test for dissolved oxygen and probably other things.