Wright 1

The Effect of Box Culvert Length on Overall Water Quality

Luke J. Wright
Department of Earth and Space Sciences
Columbus State University
Columbus, GA 31907

Abstract
As society develops at a rapid rate our impact on the surrounding ecosystems
increases. One example of this rapid societal expansion is illustrated by our use of box
culverts (I.e., pipes) to enable vehicles to traverse over streams. In my study, I sought to
quantify how box culverts impact the physical characteristics of stream water. I
hypothesized that stream water from longer box culverts will show a greater decrease in
temperature, dissolved oxygen, and pH. A box culvert prevents light from reaching the
stream, because of this the stream will lose heat well in the box culvert and photosynthesis
will not occur lowering the temperature and dissolved oxygen which will then lower pH. I
studied seven box culverts in Columbus, Ga ranging in size from 25 meters to 90 meters
with an average size of 50 meters. I measured the three parameters one meter upstream
and downstream of the box culvert and then calculated the change in each parameter. All
three parameters showed a general pattern of decreasing while box culvert length
increased, however, these results were not statistically significant. I observed an average
decrease of 9.68% in temperature, 14.94% in dissolved oxygen and 1.54% in pH across the
seven box culverts. In conclusion, our societal demands and rapid expansion often have
negative impacts on our natural world. Our use of box culverts and their effects on water
quality emphasize the conflicts between man and nature. As box culverts, lower
temperature, dissolved oxygen, and pH, unnatural and unnecessary stress is placed on the
living components of the surrounding ecosystem and the structural integrity of the
ecosystem is compromised.

Introduction
With the expansion of society and industry, we see a rapid decline in global
ecosystem health. Six decades ago researchers began noticing a rapid decline in ecosystem
water quality, a startling development for nature (Karr and Dudley, 1981). As the human
population grows our needs and nature conflict with one another. One example is
illustrated by the use of box culverts in urban development. Culverts are pipes that channel
naturally occurring streams or waterways under man-made development. Box culverts are
underground systems, so they can keep a stream deprived of sunlight and a natural
substrate from anywhere between a few meters to a few kilometers (Bender, Castleberry,
Miller, Wigley 2010). A lack of sunlight will likely impact three water quality parameters;
dissolved oxygen, pH and temperature. One study found that a lack of dissolved oxygen will
have a negative impact on a body of waters ability to absorb pollution (Calvert, 1933). The
pH within a stream has adverse impacts on the life within and around the stream and a low
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pH will have negative ramifications on the surrounding ecosystem (Holden, 2014). A

sudden change in temperature will negatively impact the life migrating through the system
(Olsen, Marcarelli, Timm, Eggert, and Kolka 2017).
Past studies have linked a lack of sunlight to a decrease in dissolved oxygen this is
due to photosynthetic species not being able to produce oxygen without the presence of the
sun. Box culverts prevent the sun from reaching the water and this should in effect lower
dissolved oxygen (Riis and Sand-Jensen 1997). As it is expected for dissolved oxygen to
decrease, I would also expect pH to decrease. Previous studies have indicated that pH and
dissolved oxygen are linearly related, where pH and dissolved oxygen decrease
simultaneously (Boto and Bunt 1981). Without exposure to sunlight the temperature will
decrease as there will be no mechanism in place to heat the water, so heat will only be lost
(Beschta 1997). It is due to these factors I expected that overall water quality and these
three parameters to decrease in a box culvert system.
This study seeks to examine the relationship of box culverts and water quality by
quantifying what impact the length of a box culvert has on water quality. To dive into
further detail and be more specific we will ask the question; “How does the length of a box
culvert affect the temperature, dissolved oxygen, and pH of the water.” I have chosen these
3 parameters due to literature indicating they will have the greatest impact on the
surrounding ecosystem. It is my hypothesis that if the box culvert is longer then there will
be a greater decrease in temperature, dissolved oxygen, and pH. It is predicted that these
will decrease with a linear proportion to length. As length increases these parameters
decrease due to a lack of sunlight exposure. My hypothesis can be tested relatively simply
by putting probes into the water at the entrances and exits of the box culvert to measure
the change. Estimating the length of a culvert can also easily be done utilizing satellite
imagery. These factors can all be plotted with one another to, therefore, calculate the effect
of length of a box culvert on overall water quality.

Methods
This study was conducted within the boundary of the Bull Creek watershed in
Columbus, GA. This watershed is heavily urbanized and is integrated into the city. The data
collection sites varied among three streams the Roaring Branch, an unnamed stream, and
Lindsey Creek. Among these streams, seven box culverts were selected of various lengths.
These culverts varied in size from 25 meters to 90 meters with a diverse spread in-
between. To find and select the box culverts the Google Maps application was utilized. With
this application, I did a virtual flyover of the watershed to select box culverts. Utilizing the
measuring tool, I approximated the length of each box culvert. Each box culvert was
assigned a number and random number generator was used to randomize the order I
sampled water quality.
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Figure 1: This map shows the location of the seven box culverts that were used in this
study.

I tested the water quality at each site on Saturday, November third and Monday,
November fifth, it was important that the data was collected on days with meteorologically
similar conditions to avoid error. Additionally, it was imperative that no major weather
event such as rain occurred within the past week as this may skew the results. I collected
data when standard conditions were present. Data collection began at 11:00 am and lasted
until 5:00 pm to get typical daylight conditions in the stream, as a lack of sunlight may
affect the results.
For the data collection process, I used an Oakton PCS Testr 35 multi parameter
probe to measure pH and a Hach HQ 30d luminescent dissolved oxygen probe to measure
dissolved oxygen and temperature. I calibrated both devices on Friday, November second.
To calibrate the Oakton PCS Testr 35 I placed the device in three buffer solutions with pHs
of 4.0, 7.0, and 10.0. The Hach HQ 30d luminescent dissolved oxygen probe was calibrated
by placing the sensor in a saturated container. My measurement units for temperature
were Celsius and mg/L for dissolved oxygen. During data collection, I would place the
probe in the center of the stream one meter before and after the box culvert started and
ended. The measurement for downstream of the culvert was collected first to avoid altering
results with the impacts of the data collection process. Upstream data was collected
secondly. The probe was placed in the stream and allowed to stabilize for three minutes
before I collected a reading for each of the three parameters. The difference between the
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upstream and downstream water quality was determined to express the change in water
quality.
The JASP 0.9.01 software was used to analyze my data in a linear regression design.
The change in the water quality after the box culverts is what I analyzed to determine what
effect the length of a box culvert had on overall water quality. The covariable was the
length of the box culvert and the dependent variables were the change in the water quality
parameters. This allowed me to create a linear regression model I used to get the R2 value,
the P-value, and the line of best for each of the three parameters.

Results
In this study the effects of the length of box culverts were evaluated against three
parameters of water quality; pH, temperature, and dissolved oxygen. The length of the
culvert was measured using Google maps length varied from 25m to 50m (Table 1).
Table 1: This table shows the metadata for each collection site; stream name, date, time,
box culvert length and weather conditions.
Length Outside Temp.
Stream Name Date Time (meters) Weather (°C)
Lindsey 11/3/2018 3:32pm 88.6968 Clear 21.67
Lindsey 11/5/2018 11:11am 49.3776 Clear 20.56
Lindsey 11/3/2018 3:02pm 48.1584 Clear 21.67
Lindsey 11/5/2018 11:22am 29.2608 Clear 20.66
Roaring
Branch 11/5/2018 4:10pm 61.8744 Clear 20.56
Unknown 11/5/2018 12:00pm 24.9936 Clear 20.92
Roaring
Branch 11/5/2018 4:25pm 51.5112 Clear 21.20

This studied examined the effect of the length of a box culvert on stream water dissolved
oxygen.
Although the results showed a general decrease in the change of dissolved oxygen
with increasing culvert length. The change was not statistically significant (Linear
Regression, p=0.060) (Fig. 2). The coefficient of determination was calculated as R2 =
0.2653 indicating that the values do not closely follow the regression line. The line of best
fit was estimated as y = -0.0373x + 0.1941 and shows the relationship between culvert
length and change in dissolved oxygen. Even though recorded values were not statistically
significant all culverts showed a negative value for the change in dissolved oxygen. Box
culverts appeared to cause a decrease in dissolved oxygen over their length. The Average
change in dissolved oxygen was -1.69 mg/L or -14.94%.
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Figure 2: The graph shows dissolved oxygen readings at various box culvert lengths with a
line of best fit.
0
20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
-1
Change in DO (mg/L)

-2

-3

-4

-5

-6
Culvert Length (meters)

This study examined the effect of the length of a box culvert on stream water pH.
Although the results showed a general decrease in the change of pH with increasing
culvert length. The change was not statistically significant (Linear Regression, p=0.152)
(Fig. 3). The coefficient of determination was calculated as R2 = 0.5851 indicating that the
values do not closely follow the regression line. The line of best fit was estimated as y = -
0.009x + 0.3348 and shows the relationship between culvert length and change in pH. Even
though recorded values were not statistically significant a general trend in the longer
culverts can be seen in the data. Box culverts appeared to cause a decrease in pH over their
length. The Average change in pH was -0.69 or -1.54%.
Figure 3: The graph shows pH readings at various box culvert lengths with a line of best fit.

0.2

0.1

0
20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
Change in pH

-0.1

-0.2

-0.3

-0.4

-0.5

-0.6
Culvert Length (meters)
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What is the effect of the length of a box culvert on temperature?

Although the results showed a general decrease in the change of temperature with
increasing culvert length. The change was not statistically significant (Linear Regression,
p=0.157) (Fig. 4). The coefficient of determination was calculated as R2 = 0.6254 indicating
that the values do not closely follow the regression line. The line of best fit was estimated
as y = y = -0.0388x + 0.2329 and shows the relationship between culvert length and change
in temperature. Even though recorded values were not statistically significant all culverts
showed a negative value for the change in temperature. Box culverts appeared to cause a
decrease in temperature over their length. The Average change in temperature was -1.73
°C or -9.68%.
Figure 4: The graph shows temperature readings at various box culvert lengths with a line
of best fit.
0
20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
-0.5
Change in Temperature (°C)

-1
-1.5
-2
-2.5
-3
-3.5
-4
-4.5
Culvert Length (meters)

Discussion
This study examined the effect of the length of a box culvert on overall water quality. To do
this study, I characterized the dissolved oxygen, temperature, and pH among a diverse set
of box culverts throughout the Bull Creek watershed (Columbus, Ga). Characterization of
the three parameters was done by finding how the parameters changed between the
entrance and exit of the box culverts. I hypothesized that longer box culverts will show a
greater decrease in temperature, dissolved oxygen, and pH than shorter ones. The data
collected shows this predicted pattern, however, the results were not statistically
significant.
Previous research measuring my parameters have found similar results. Dissolved
oxygen has been related stream channelization in the past and it was found that stream
channelization leads to less biologically productive streams (Nunnally, 1978). This study
supports my findings as dissolved oxygen is often used as an indicator of productivity and I
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observed that as box culvert length increased more dissolved oxygen was lost. Longer box
culverts will subject a stream to an absence of light for a longer duration. Light is a limiting
factor in the photosynthesis of algal species (Hill and Knight, 1988). The loss in dissolved
oxygen can be contributed to the inability of a primary producer such as algae to
photosynthesize as no sunlight was able to reach the stream since it was covered. Another
study suggests that human thermal degradation of a stream stems from the alteration of
the banks of a stream, as the banks insulate the stream (Poole and Berman, 2001). Another
study shows that sunlight heats streams and a lack of it will have a cooling effect (Brown
and Krygier, 1970). These studies help to explain why my results show a greater decrease
in temperature with an increase in length. Covered streams experience a lack of sunlight
resulting in reduced solar heating, thus it would make sense to see a substantial decrease in
temperature. As dissolved oxygen decreases, pH will often decrease due to algae
concentrations decreasing (Zang et al, 2011). My data shows a pattern both pH and
dissolved oxygen decreasing with increasing box culvert length, however, I did not
measure pH against dissolved oxygen. In future studies I would recommend studying a
wider spread of box culvert lengths.
It is important to know our impact on the natural world. While the use of box
culvert systems is only a small component of a rapid global environmental degradation left
in the wake of the unsustainable industrial expansion of human society (Saurin, 1993). It is
critically important to lessen our impact wherever possible on a planet where we make up
only a small percentage of total inhabitants but make virtually all the problems (Vitousek,
1997). By examining and acknowledging the impacts of box culverts on their local
ecosystems, we can better plan in the future to avoid our current mistakes and create a
more sustainable future. In order to reduce our impact on the environment, we can avoid
using box culvert systems when possible.
 Wright 8

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