Annual Stream Sampling Helps Ensure Lake Health
WINONA LAKE — The Lilly Center for Lakes & Streams, including 10 students from Grace College, is measuring the water quality of local streams this fall as part of the center’s year-round sampling efforts. Information gathered through stream sampling helps make sure the lakes in Kosciusko County are healthy for the future.
Every two weeks, Grace College students take sampling equipment to 18 streams in the county.
“We learn what is flowing into and out of the lakes by monitoring streams,” explained Hayden McCloskey, a second year student at Grace College and lead research assistant at the Lilly Center, “The streams studied are connected to Winona, Wawasee and Tippecanoe lakes.”
Lakes are not detached bodies of water; a variety of sources feed them. Since streams heavily influence the health of lakes, several important parameters are measured.
“We use special equipment to test streamflow, water quality conditions and more,” said Hayden, “Then we send water samples to a lab. They test the water for nutrient levels and E.coli.” The results help determine how community and environmental factors are affecting local water resources.
Especially during winter, sampling is crucial to understanding the health of local lakes. Annual stream sampling shows how environmental factors may alter the expected, seasonal changes of a lake. It also creates a steady stream of data that contributes to presentations, reports and community education throughout the year.
When Grace College’s Dr. Dane A. Miller Science Complex is built, the Lilly Center will have the resources to test water in the center’s own research lab space. This offers exciting opportunities. Data will be gathered more quickly, and Grace College students can have a hands-on, complete experience testing water samples.