Kids study stream erosion in high-speed

Eighth grade kids from Maplewood/Richmond Heights Middle School have been studying the watershed of nearby Deer Creek. Last month, they got to simulate at high speed the erosion potential of the stream.

Science teacher John Harbaugh has been conducting a yearlong study of water. They are studying water quality, water action by streams and how water affects the area's ecology.

But, he makes sure their studies include more than just class work.

Last month, his kids took the second of three fieldtrips scheduled this school year at the Litzsinger Road Ecology Center. That center sits right in the middle of residential neighborhoods and straddles Deer Creek west of Tilles Park.

The creek is part of the River Des Peres watershed that includes much of St. Louis City and County.

The Deer Creek watershed drains an area from Interstate 270 on the west, Page Avenue on the north, the city limits of St. Louis on the east and Manchester Avenue on the south.

But, to look at Deer Creek now, it's hard to imagine the water causing much erosion. There's just a trickle of water in the steam and it's moving very slowly.

First, the kids took water samples to check for pollution and impurities. They compare the results to tests made on their first trip last fall.

Jessica Hirzy

Eighth grader Jessica Hirzy said she tested for Ph, chlorine and nitrates.

"Ph levels were down, chlorine was up and nitrates were the same as last fall," she said.

The students also looked for signs of past erosion when the stream flow was high.

Eddie Jones is a Litzsinger employee who hosted the Maplewood/Richmond Heights kids. He was assisted by volunteers Jan Stark and Dale Albers. The kids were divided into smaller groups so they could get more hands-on experience.

The search for erosion was in the form of a Deer Creek Scavenger Hunt. The kids each got a one-page map of the Deer Creek area and were supposed to note where they found signs of erosion.

Among the things they were looking for was erosion cuts in the stream banks, sedimentation, riffles, any point bars or pooling as well as evidence of flooding.

Instructor Jones said the seasonal water runoff pattern along Deer Creek has changed a lot since the early days of St. Louis.

In the early years, the land in the Deer Creek watershed was mostly rural, with a lot of forestland. That meant a lot of the rainwater soaking into the ground and runoff was more continuous year around.

Alec Mayhall, Eduardo Verdia and Kevin Sapp (l to r) take water samples

But, now, a lot of the watershed has been covered with commercial areas, streets and large, paved parking lots. That means that water runs off quickly after a rain, filling the creek. But, in dry weather, there's little runoff to the creek from groundwater supplies.

In the winter, stream levels are usually very low.

Volunteer Dale Albers works on model watershed table

After studying outdoors, the kids adjourned to a classroom area where an artificial, simulated watershed is laid out on a wooden table.

But, unlike the real creek valley, "earth" in the model watershed is granulated plastic that looks like light-colored sand. The plastic is easy to form into a model watershed.

The table includes water piping that can simulate a flowing stream. And the light plastic grains "erode" at high speed.

Before water was turned on, kids placed model homes, cars and schools near the creek. One kid thought he had a good idea. He put a house on a rock bridge spanning the creek.

But, his house was one of the first to fall when the water eroded the "soil" where the bridge had been anchored into the stream banks.

Julianne Martin

Eighth grader Julianne Martin was one of the science students who had some personal experience concerning the erosive power of rushing water.

She said she and her family used to hike near the Taum Sauk Reservoir in southern Missouri. That's the Ameren Electric reservoir that failed last year and washed out a whole park area downstream.

"I don't know whether we'll be able to hike there anymore," she said.

Teacher John Harbaugh said there are fieldtrips to Litzsinger for all grades at his school. Among other projects are to help to replant native Missouri plants in the watershed.

Jessica Hirzy said the fieldtrip when the kids planted native Missouri plants was her favorite of the five trips she's be on so far.