A group of Rochester Institute of Technology students have completed a report expected to help address the water quality problems of a creek that runs through Brighton and Henrietta.

The 35-page report looks into pollution problems related to Red Creek, which was put on an “impaired” list last year by state Department of Environmental Conservation.

Aquatic life and recreational use of the creek, said the DEC in its 2010 findings, were being “impaired by unknown toxicity,” which could be the result of runoff, possibly sanitary discharges and agricultural activity.

The DEC said that a remedial plan should be deferred until more is known about possible pollutants.

And that’s what the RIT students set out to do.

They worked on the project with the Monroe County Department of Environmental Services.

“We tried to find hot spots,” said Samantha Gonzalez, 23, who is earning a master’s degree in environmental science at RIT and worked on the project with seven other RIT students.

The students’ report, completed earlier this month, is for an Environmental Science Capstone course at the college.

Red Creek has a watershed that extends into Rush.

Jeff Myers, director of water assessment and management for the DEC, said that a three-member team from this state agency helps monitor about 2,000 creeks in the state by determining what kinds of bugs, worms and crustaceans, such as crayfish, are in the water. A 2004 examination by this team found that the creek would have difficulty supporting fish that would be expected to be found if there weren’t pollution problems.

What RIT students did was provide a fresh look at the pollution problems of the creek.

In March and April, after rainfall, the students took samples from the creek at seven sites. They also inspected the creek, which runs for 46 miles, for problem areas.

And while additional testing is needed, the students pointed to numerous problem areas.

Samples collected near Tomahawk Trail in Henrietta had the highest level of phosphorous of the seven sites, according to the report.

Continue reading this two-part feature by James Goodman via RIT students report on pollution problems in Red Creek | Democrat and Chronicle | democratandchronicle.com.