Conclusions: Dissolved Oxygen

Dissolved oxygen concentrations on New Island had a broad range.  I considered a concentration of 5.0 mg/l or higher to be a minimum standard for the waters of New Island, the samples from the Susquehanna River appear healthy.  These samples testes > 7.0 mg/l. Wetland samples testes a little lower in concentration, many less than 6.0 mg/l and some as low as 4.0 mg/l.  However, the organisms living in these wetlands are probably tolerant of these hypoxic conditions.  It is much more important for the river samples to test high.  The lower oxygen concentrations in the wetland samples is most likely attributed to the natural organic decay that takes place and would not indicate any outside sources of pollution.