Background
Efforts to promote clean water are for the benefit of all people and wildlife in Steuben County. In the early 2000s, the Steuben County Lakes Council (SCLC) began a water quality monitoring program to address the public’s concerns about unsafe Escherichia coli (E. coli) levels in the County’s lakes and streams.
E. coli is a bacterium found in many places, including the environment, foods, water, and the intestines of people and animals. Most E. coli strains are harmless and are part of a healthy intestinal tract. E. coli helps digest food, produces vitamins, and protects us from harmful germs. However, some E. coli strains can cause serious illness in people who encounter contaminated water, typically through swimming and other water sports.
While the SCLC data revealed the extent of E. coli in Steuben County, the data gave limited insight into the cause of the problem. In response to the need for more robust data, members of the Steuben County Lakes Council (SCLC), Steuben County Health Department (SCHD), Steuben County Soil & Water Conservation District (SWCD), City of Angola Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (COA MS4), St. Joseph River Basin Commission (SJRBC), Michiana Area Council of Governments (MACOG), AmeriCorps, and Trine University formed a committee and developed the Steuben County Strategic Water Quality Monitoring Program (SCSWQMP).
Purpose
The goal for the program is to establish baseline information on the overall status of water quality throughout the county and help inform local policy decisions which can lead to corrective actions to improve water quality.
Funding
Since the program’s inception in 2023, it has been awarded a Steuben County Community Foundation Impact Grant to support sampling efforts through 2026. This support, in addition to monetary and in-kind support from the partner organizations, has allowed the program to expand the number of sites monitored each year. Sampling sites are located within the Upper St. Joseph River Watershed, which drains to Lake Erie, and Pigeon Creek and Fawn River Watersheds, which drain to Lake Michigan.
Methods
- Monitoring sites were selected using an analysis of historical water quality data collected by the Steuben County Lakes Council (SCLC). One monitoring location (Pigeon Creek at State Road 327) serves as a reference site. It consistently has shown low bacterial, nutrient, and sediment levels and the biological monitoring conducted by the St. Joseph River Basin Commission (SJRBC) demonstrated exceptional stream health. The remaining sites are a subset of the most impaired waterways documented by the SCLC.
- The program monitors surface water sites on a weekly basis for a period of consecutive weeks. One benefit of consistency is that it allows for a more representative sample of water quality trends over time.
At each site we tested for:
- E. coli, total phosphorus, and total suspended solids are collected via grab samples. Samples are placed on ice immediately after collection for laboratory analysis. Water quality samples need to be kept on ice to slow down microbial activity and chemical reactions that can alter the sample’s composition before analysis.
- Measurements for temperature, Dissolved Oxygen (DO), pH, Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), Conductivity, Chlorophyll-a, and chlorides were taken in the field using a portable water quality meter, a HydroLab HL7 Multiparameter Sonde.
- Stream discharge was measured using the mechanical current-meter method where water velocity and depth are measured at predetermined points across a stream/river.
Water Quality Results Report
Check Out Our Podcast!
WLKI 100.3 Strategic Water Quality Monitoring Program Podcast – Part 1
WLKI 100.3 Strategic Water Quality Monitoring Program Podcast – Part 2
