watershed - WKTV Journal

By Connor Bechler, Calvin College

E. Coli, a largely harmless but occasionally dangerous bacteria present in animal and human feces, is found throughout the Plaster Creek watershed. The E. Coli strains present in the watershed from animal waste are likely the product of agricultural runoff. However, when it comes to the E. Coli from human waste, according to professor Kelly DuBois, “it’s really not known where that’s coming from.”

So, does DuBois, a professor of biology, intend to track down the source? “Based on how often they’re finding [E. Coli]—all over the place—it can’t be one source, so we have a really small chance of pinpointing all the sources and shutting them all down,” said DuBois.

Instead, she is working with a group of student researchers to assess if green infrastructure installations could be an environmentally safe solution. In particular, they are looking at the impact of Kreiser pond, a retention basin installed in a residential area of Grand Rapids four or five years ago, “which is essentially a U-shaped little pond,” built to slow rainwater runoff. “We know it slows the flow down, it absolutely works for that,” said DuBois, “but my question was: what is it doing with the microbes in the water?”

A collaborative legacy

While according to DuBois, “it’s been shown in some instances that green infrastructure can be really efficient at removing bacterial contamination,” she hopes to prove that it’s effective in Plaster Creek’s case so that future green infrastructure projects in the watershed can be designed with microbial reduction in mind.

The project is in collaboration with the Plaster Creek Stewards, a group of Calvin faculty, staff, and students who have been working over a decade on the restoration of the Plaster Creek watershed. “It’s a fun group to be a part of,” said DuBois, “because there’s so much collaboration, and everyone comes at it from a little different perspective.”

DuBois was inspired to work with Plaster Creek Stewards after doing research through Calvin’s Clean Water Institute last year. “I was really excited to be a part of [the Clean Water Institute], and that has kind of led to [working with Plaster Creek],” she said, “because I developed that skill set last summer with my student, it was like ‘hey, we can apply these [tools] to Plaster Creek too!”

Pursuing proper stewardship

“As biologists, obviously, creation care is something that’s very important to us,” DuBois said, “I honestly love bench science, but it’s nice to have a project [where] it’s easier for students to see the direct connection with taking care of creation.” She added, “we can see, when we measure stuff in that water, that humans have had a negative impact on this little part of creation, and so it’s very practical to say we want to turn that around now.”

One of the student researchers, Kate DeHeer, a junior majoring in biology and biochemistry, has observed firsthand the positive community impacts of the Steward’s work: “we’ve only been out to the pond twice, but have met around five neighbors interested in our work.” She added, “they all seem to be fond of Kreiser and were happy to have it in their neighborhood.”

According to Tobe Ndika, a junior biology major with a pre-med concentration, “[this research] has made me aware of the need for stewardship towards God’s creation.” He added “I feel called to make the world a better place.”

Reprinted with permission from Calvin College.

Freshman Will Chatlosh shows his map detailing water runoff, a non point source of pollution.

By Erin Albanese

School News Network

A drone buzzed over the East Kentwood Freshman campus, snapping photos to document the path of water runoff from the school building to a Buck Creek tributary that runs across the property. While watching the miniature aircraft, science students talked about how to reduce humans’ impact on the environment. They would later use technology to create maps and documentaries.

Welcome to 21st-century biology, where students have tools like drones for snapping photos from a bird’s eye view, 3-D printers for creating three-dimensional models and smartphones to create video.

Students gather to fly the drone in the schoolyard.

In science teacher Nicholas Bihler’s class, they also had the drive to tackle a real-world problem: Water that comes off the school roof simply drains onto the ground, collecting sediment and chemicals and polluting nearby waterways.

“Unfortunately, that’s a major source of nonpoint-source pollution,” Bihler said.

While solutions to fix the runoff problem are still unfolding, students completed several projects connected to nonpoint source pollution, and the ramifications it has on the community and local watershed. They recently showcased their work – models of campus that show the runoff path, reports, informational posters and videos – after several weeks exploring the issue and building awareness.

“Our whole purpose is to educate the community on how water runoff affects the community and the environment as a whole,” said freshman Emily Kwekel.

Students created projects with technology including drone pictures of campus and 3-D printed items.

Ongoing Work

Students’ projects and data will be used by next year’s class, and could eventually be part of a local information campaign to spur efforts to reduce pollution in the watershed. Research included gathering and testing water from the creek to create an analysis of the stream’s health. Results showed excessive phosphorus levels. Insects lacked diversity, indicating poor water quality, and next year’s students will use the data as a baseline.

“I want my students to be able to educate others about nonpoint source pollution and meaningful ways citizens can take action to reduce it,” Bihler said.

Students said they learned that pollution can come from everyday things: Fertilizers and cars have a far-reaching effect.

“It hurts the animals and then those animals can’t eat because their food source is dying off, and then they die and go extinct and people wonder why,” said freshman Lilli Crowley.

A water-mitigation garden, created by staff, is just one step in reducing the problem of water runoff from the school.

Taking action at a staff level, Bihler and his colleagues, teachers Adrienne DeMilner, Alan Freudigmann and Beth Thompson, partnered with Groundswell, an initiative through Grand Valley State University, in creating a rain mitigation garden in the school to capture water runoff and hold it in the soil with native plants.

As for sharing the message, freshman Will Chatlosh’s report, presented to his class and earning loud applause from peers, gets to the point.

“Human activities such as deforestation, agricultural advancements, and increased urbanization are all factors that increase pollution in this way,” he said, while reading his report to the class. “However, it may be a lack of information that kills millions of animals a year and increases the chance of disease around the world. However, more specifically our community is also affected by nonpoint source pollution.”

He said becoming informed is key. “Nonpoint source pollution could destroy the world but it doesn’t have to.”