Falls Park
The best reading for what the Sioux Falls metro area does to the water quality is found at Falls Park. For the first time, average TSS levels rise to equal the established safety standard. Several TSS readings exceed the standard. Beginning in mid-June, E. Coli levels stay above 126MG/L through the summer and into the fall. Nitrate levels are low. Skunk Creek, a major tributary of the Big Sioux in Sioux Falls, has similar test results with unsafe E. Coli levels, high TSS levels, and low nitrate levels. This indicates that there is still work to do implementing conservation practices in the Skunk Creek watershed. It also indicates that there is runoff from the urban footprint of Sioux Falls, adding to the contamination. |