Factors Affecting Bulimba Creek's Unrinkability

The water from the creeks and water bodies around Brisbane will be unsafe to drink as the water is polluted and results will not be in the recommended requirements for safe drinking. It is expected that Bulimba Creek is polluted because it is a large water way and therefore it is hard for one committee to maintain the watery way’s health while respecting its biodiversity (BulimbaCreek.org, 2015). It is expected that Waterloo Bay is undrinkable because it is a salt water body (Health-e-waterways.org, 2012). It is expected that Phillips Creek is undrinkable because it is located in an industrial area and surrounded by many shops and petrol stations, which can lead to exposure of chemicals which can pollute the water (BulimbaCreek.org, n.d.).
Water samples were collected from Bulimba Creek, Waterloo Bay and Phillips Creek. Tap water from a Brisbane household was used as a control during the experiment. It was predicted that the most drinkable water, and the water which satisfied the most Australian Drinking Water Guidelines (ADWG) would be Bulimba Creek, then Phillips Creek, followed by Waterloo Bay. This is because Bulimba Creek, located around rural Bulimba, is a difficult, biodiverse water way to keep clean. Phillips Creek, with a water sample taken from Carina Heights, is located near many shopping locations which may have an effect upon its water body’s drinkability. Waterloo Bay, located in Wynnum, is a salt water body which would be unfit for human
It is evident from this experiment that the three water samples are all undrinkable. To improve the water quality of the water ways there needs to be less insoluble substances found in the water.
The turbidity of the water samples needs to be improved for Waterloo Bay and Bulimba Creek. This can be done by filtering the water. By having non-degradable sediments around the water way the amount of run off entering the water is limited. This would also contribute to improvement of the water’s colour because it would have less insoluble substances such as dirt.
The salinity of Waterloo Bay cannot be improved because it is a salt water body. However to improve the salinity of Phillips Creek and Bulimba Creek the roads and other sediment based structures and the infrastructure of nearby drainage need to be regularly maintained to avoid rocks falling into the water. The salinity levels of the water bodies also has the potential to fluctuate due to periods of rainfall which are able to dilute the concentration of the Cl- in the water