Time of travel, water quality, and bed-material quality in the Cuyahoga River within the Cuyahoga Valley National Recreation area, Ohio

Three studies were conducted in the Cuyahoga Valley National Recreation by the U. S. Geological Survey to (1) establish the relationship between time of travel and discharge through the park reach of the Cuyahoga River, (2) characterize water quality of the Cuyahoga River within the park over a 24-hour period, and (3) determine general areas where the streambed might be contaminated by trace metals. Time of Travel between Botzum and Independence is described by the equation T = 46.9-0.038Q, where T = time, in hours, and Q = discharge at Independence, in cubic feet per second. On the main stem of the Cuyahoga River, dissolved-oxygen saturation was highest and ultimate carbonaceous biochemical oxygen demand was lowest on the upstream and downstream ends of the reach. Dissolved-oxygen saturation was more than 80 percent in all the tributaries except Furnace Run, Brandywine Creek, and Langes Run. The number of fecal coliform counts per 100 milliliters of sample was high throughout the study area and ranged from 38 to 1,200,000. Concentrations of all metals and non-metals investigated by means of analysis of bed material were not anomalously high. (USGS)