Water Sample

Tonight I went to a training session at a picnic table at Chester Creek. The other three people getting trained were college students at UMD. We were trained how to check water quality. This is a more complicated procedure than what I do for the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. We got another secchi tube. This secchi tube is different than the one I already have. This one goes to 115 centimeters. Instead of the black and white signal being pulled up on a string, this new tube has the signal at the bottom. Under the tube is a release valve. When I press down on the tube water slowly falls out. The idea is to let water out until you can see the signal and then look at how much water is left. We also got a special pen that reads the temperature and conductivity of the water. We were each given a collapsible fabric bucket to gather the water. We were shown how to document all of our data. After that we were shown how to gather a small amount of water in a sterile bag. The idea is to take that sterile bag of creek water home with an ice pack. Before I leave my house to sample the water, I am to take a small bottle of agar out of my freezer to thaw for an hour. I am supposed to label a sterile petri dish with the location and date of my sampling. After putting the agar in the petri dish I draw up 3 milliliters of creek water and put it on top of the agar and quickly put the petri dish cover on tight. Then I place that petri dish in a warm spot in my house for 12 to 24 hours. When I see that bacteria is growing, I set a timer for 24 hours. When the 24 hours is up I start counting the bacteria. We were trained to differ the different kinds of bacteria. E-Coli is dark purple or blue. We count the bubbles of bacteria and document it. When we turn in our data on-line we include a picture of the stream upstream, downstream and a third picture of the bacteria on the petri dish. When all that is done we pour bleach over the bacteria, wrap all our supplies up in a plastic baggie and throw it in the trash. This is all very scientific and specific. Well, challenges are good for me and if I have any questions I have a person to call for advice. The data we collect will help the city of Duluth know when they have a problem. The city  has 60 streams running through it and frequently sewer lines run below the streams. It has happened that a sewer pipe below a stream failed and bacteria got into the stream. Right now Lake Superior is experiencing some algae blooms on the south shore. So far there have been zero algae blooms on the north shore but collecting this data should help in catching problems early and preventing any algae blooms on the north shore. I went home with lots of expensive equipment which I do not get to keep. I feel excited to work with such young and smart people on this project. We start in two weeks and will take data weekly until the creek freezes.