June 29th, 2011

     Yesterday I drove to several locations to take water samples to test with the IOWATER testing kit that I was trained with on Saturday. Unfortunately, I forgot to get the sterile water containers to collect the water and the cooler to transport the water  back to the lab so we can test it for total Coliform bacteria and E. Coli bacteria. I instead collected water in an old Advil bottle that I cleaned out, but I could not keep it cool enough. At the end of the day back in the DNR lab when Jason McCurdy  tested the temperature, it read over 80 degrees Farenheit, That combined with the unsterile conditions made us decide that the sample would not be representative of the river water we were testing. Jason made a monumental effort not to laugh at us for our collecting methods. (Eric collected his water in a Hardee's cup).
     Eric Butikofer is also an extern at the Coralville DNR and he rode along with me. I sampled my officially registered testing site and another one upstream of it for a comparison. Next Tuesday I will also test  a site downstream for comparison purposes. My official site is along the Wapsipinicon River where my family has a cabin near the river. I tested for phosphates, nitrates and nitrites, pH,dissolved oxygen, and stream velocity among other things. We also tested Eric's site on Abbe Creek and another site along the Cedar River for fun and practice with reading the tests.
     I recorded my findings for my registered site on the IOWATER website. Anyone can view the data gathered by the volunteers on the site. Since this is the first data I have gathered, I can't make any judgements about what the test results say since I don't know what is normal for my site.
     I enjoyed getting out to my site and observing the physical environment as well as testing the chemical characteristics. I was much more interested in the data for my site than when we practiced the tests using the water in a nearby stream on Saturday. I imagine this is the difference the students would feel when the samples they are to test are provided for them instead of allowing them to choose their own sites. I wanted the students to choose what they wanted to test and why because I think they feel more ownership in the project and this just confirms it.

DNR Blog June27th,2011

     On Saturday I attended the IOWATER workshop in North Liberty. We spent time learning about the IOWATER testing volunteers and how important they are. The DNR does not have the manpower to physically test all of the water in the state often enough to be meaningful. The volunteers test the water for chemicals, physical attributes and bacteria counts. These results are uploaded to the IOWATER web site (http://www.iowater.net/). Anyone can view them. If you are testing a site, you can compare your site to others to see how they compare.
     We also learned how to conduct the tests inside and then out into the rain we went to test the water in a stream. (Honestly, when isn't it raining in Iowa in June?) The water we tested was in a drainage ditch behind the North Liberty rec center. Many people were all too happy to climb/slide down into the knee high water. I went in once (in hip waders), but it was easier to hand the bottles to my partner, get them back and test them on shore, so we did it that way. Pretty soon the rain was increasing in intensity, so we finished and headed back in to dry off and eat lunch (after carefully washing our hands). Now I have experience taking and recording data!
     In the afternoon we heard stories of volunteers who went out not looking for anything, then discovered a water quality problem, identified the source and found people willing to bring it to the attention of the people who could resove the issue. It is very satisfying to hear of pollution issues that were actually fixed. Sometimes I feel that we just look the other way when there is a problem, hoping someone else will take the time to report it or fix it. But if we all do that, how can we ever solve any problems? Do we really just want to pass everything on to the future generations and see if they can fix it or even want to?
     In the lesson plan I am attempting to implement this next fall, I am hoping students have a curiosity about the water around them. I am hoping they realize they always wondered about the water quality in a lake they swim in or a ditch by their house. I am also hoping their tests and research raises more questions about water quality and creates an enduring interest in the environment around them and how they impact it and how it impacts them.

June 23rd,2011

This morning Jason let us read the water tests we set up yesterday. Most of the test wells turned yellow, a positive test for the presence of Coliform bacteria. Fewer of the wells fluoresced so the specific bacteria E. Coli were not that high in concentration. In fact one plate did not fluoresce at all so there were less than 10 bacteria present. Jason also showed us the portable incubator that a couple of workers take on the road to run the same tests on water that we ran in the lab. The samples have to be tested within 6 hours and the water collection points are so far apart that they cannot get back in time to test them at the lab in Coralville, so they test them in the field. They work 12 to 14 hour days at the beginning of the week and stay in motels, then returnto Coralville to finish the tests and record the results at the end of the week. There is a northern route and a Southern route as well as a local route. The local route samples are brought back to the lab to test.

On Saturday, I will be attending a workshop where we will work with the IOWATER test kits so I will know more about those tests and we also get to collect samples in the field for the first time! The weather is supposed to be good-sunny and 70's so that will be fun!!

June 22,2011

Today was my second day working for the DNR in Coralville. Yesterday I worked with Jackie Gautsch. I read a lot of information about how to take a water sample to test, safety procedures involved in taking the sample, and how to perform and read a water test. There were the procedures the DNR follows and different tests and procedures for water testing using the water test the DNR provides but volunteers actually sample and test through the Iowater program. We also prepared materials for the Iowater workshop the next day and I got familiar with the DNR website and read a little about project AWARE coming up in early July. Project AWARE is a river cleanup project starting July 9th and ending July 16th along the Little Turkey, Turkey and Volga rivers. Volunteers canoe and look for trash to remove from the river. AWARE stands for A Watershed awareness River Expedition.

Today Jason McCurdy showed Eric and I how to test water samples sent in to the DNR from places like Malone Lake near DeWitt, Grays Lake in Des Moines, and West Lake Park Beach in Davenport. The sample dilution is 1:10 so we mix a bacteria nutrient solution and add 10 ml of our sample water to it. We seal it into a tray with large and small wells and incubate it at 35 degrees Celsius (about room temperature) for 24- 28 hours. Jason showed us a sample from the Missouri river that had been prepared the day before to read the results. The water turns yellow when there is bacteria present and fluoresces for E. Coli bacteria. We count the number of large and small wells that fluoresce and find the corresponding number on a chart and then multiply that number by 10 since we diluted it 1:10. The bacteria count for the Missouri River was low, Jason said, because of the large volumes of water running down the river due to the flooding. Summer is a fairly busy time for them because they are monitoring beach water also.

I asked about "swimmer's itch" because it had been in the news recently since it was occurring at some lakes and beach recreational areas. Jason said it is from a parasite in bird droppings that goes into snails for part of it's life cycle, then some mammals skin.

     I am looking forward to reading our water test results tomorrow!