What's in Your Water?

Each time Doug Andersen listens to his 12-year-old son, Konnor, describe his lake monitoring activities to curious friends, family members and strangers, he hears growing confidence in the youngster’s voice.

 

 “It’s been fun to see Konnor’s responses grow in length and detail as he gains understanding in what he’s doing,” says Andersen, a Utah State University alum who is a broadcast journalist with KPVI-TV in Pocatello, Idaho.

 

Konnor is one of more than 30 water enthusiasts in 15 Utah counties who have been offering a few hours of their leisure time to monitor the health of the state’s lakes and reservoirs. Led by the Utah State University’s Water Quality Extension group, the volunteers are providing the Utah Division of Water Quality with valuable information about the condition of Utah’s waters.

 

“Data collected by the volunteers is used in mandatory assessment reports that we submit to the Environmental Protection Agency,” says Theron Miller, environmental scientist with the UDWQ. “The more data we receive, the more accurate our reports can be.”

 

Kaisi Baron, a USU undergraduate watershed sciences major, serves as coordinator of the five-year-old volunteer monitoring program, known as Utah Lake Watch. “We’ve had a great response from the public,” says Baron. “Last year, we successfully monitored 20 lakes and reservoirs. This year, we’re monitoring 30 sites.”

 

The monitoring procedure involves lowering a device called a Secchi disk, invented in the 1860s by Italian astrophysicist Pietro Angelo Secchi, into the water and recording the depth of its vanishing point. About eight inches in diameter, the flat disk, which is suspended on a retractable tape measure, is painted in alternating black and water quadrants for high visibility. Readings provide a standardized measurement of water clarity.

 

“It’s a simple procedure – it takes just a few minutes to perform,” says Baron. “It’s an easy, fun volunteer activity and a good excuse to do something good for the environment.”

 

Secchi measurements enable water scientists to monitor the water’s turbidity or cloudiness caused by suspended or dissolved material, says Baron. The amount of turbidity, usually caused by sediment, phytoplankton, decaying leaves or plants or a combination of these, is a key indicator of the water’s ability to sustain aquatic plant and animal life.

 

Volunteer Konnor says he’s learned “lots” from taking readings in Bear Lake, which straddles the border of Utah and Idaho. “You can see about five meters into the water, about 15 feet. The wind blows a lot,” he says. “Pollution changes the clearness of the water. Same for the water level, which can go up when it rains or receives runoff. It goes down through evaporation. And farmers taking their share of the water. And animals drinking out of it.”

 

Andersen says participation in the project has ignited his son’s enthusiasm for science.

“Kaisi (Baron) has been a big help in this regard, really instilling excitement and confidence in Konnor from the first time we met,” he says.

 

As the cadre of Utah Lake Watch volunteers grows and data is banked, so too, will the state of Utah have increasingly accurate information from which to observe trends.

 

“I wish we had more personnel to send out and take measurements, but we simply don’t have the resources,” says Miller. “The information that volunteers are gathering for us is extremely valuable.”

 

Konnor thinks it’s important for volunteers to participate in projects like Utah Lake Watch. “(Bear Lake) is a good lake, lots of fun and I would like my kids to be able to visit it, too,” he says.

 

Adds his dad, Doug, “Public education is an important element of taking care of the lake. Water is increasing in demand, especially clean, plentiful sources in the West. For a myriad of reasons it’s important we take care of what is in our own backyard.”