New partnership between CSU & Chattahoochee Riverkeeper to improve water quality testing
More than two years in the making, a partnership between CSU students and the Chattahoochee Riverkeeper will create a collaborative on-site water quality testing space.
The lab space will deliver water quality results from lakes, streams, and tributaries throughout the Columbus region, and give CSU students hands-on experience in the biology lab and access to Chattahoochee Riverkeeper expertise in LeNoir Hall.
The partnership is aimed at protecting the health of residents in the region through better water testing. Creators of the partnership say it can help mitigate harm to public health and better study river health.
The river watchdog nonprofit, Chattahoochee Riverkeeper unveiled its partnership with CSU to have this on-site E. Coli testing and the expertise of the Riverkeeper for CSU students.
“This is the start of a very good partnership, and I couldn’t be more excited,” CSU President Dr. Stuart Rayfield said. “We will take theory and what is [discussed] in the classroom and marry it with what is going on in our community. This joint space will be really incredible for everybody.”
This will be the sixth lab along the Chattahoochee to help test for E. coli, heavy metals, and water turbidity within all streams and lakes in the region. E. Coli is the critical parameter to ensure people can recreate safely.
For 12 years the Chattahoochee Watershed has asked volunteers to collect water samples as part of their Neighborhood Water Watch program, which includes 200 testing locations along the Chattahoochee. Previously, those samples would have to be taken to and analyzed in La Grange, a 45-minute drive from Columbus.
“Which is tough on students and interns,” Henry Jacobs, the Director of the Chattahoochee Riverkeeper said.
“This partnership is about working with students to give them real-world experience,” Jacobs said. “Being able to have this lab on campus limits travel [difficulties]. Students can walk down to Lindsey Creek, take a sample, bring it here to the lab and then head off to class.”
The existing lab space (previously a microbiology lab) is being repurposed as a testing and analysis site for Chattahoochee Riverkeepers and biology students.
The partnership came about through discussions between Ashley Desensi, a previous Riverkeeper intern and now Technical Program Specialist for the organization. Desensi earned her bachelor’s and master’s at CSU in biology and now teaches part-time.
“It all started when Ashley Desensi and I were talking one day and thought we could collaborate and oversee some student research,” Mike Newbrey, Senior Lecturer at CSU told the L-E. “We started doing some collaborations and then thought, well, we should just partner, officially. Henry loved the idea. Then we pursued it with the administration here. Everybody was very supportive of it.”
This comes at no additional cost to the University or the CR.
“There is no pot of money out there that we draw out of, we’re just combining our normal everyday activities to make something really cool happen,” Newbrey said.
Why does E.Coli and water quality matter?
E.Coli is the best indicator of the presence of bacteria and other pathogens, mainly originating from sewage.
“If I were to ingest water with E. Coli and had a compromised immune system, I could end up getting really sick,” Newbrey said. “Weracoba Creek can at times have really high levels of bacteria. Lindsey Creek runs right through campus here, and has shown E. Coli in parts of it, probably from sewage leaks.”
Weracoba Creek is the water body that runs through Lakebottom Park.
“My students will then have access to the Chattahoochee Riverkeepers on a regular basis to answer and pose questions,” Newbrey said. “These two students will be out collecting water samples to run through the IDEXX machine to count bacteria. That is not something that my students had access to before [this partnership].”
“It’s very cool, Adian Rush a senior biology student said. “It’s usually just you and the professor, but now that I can partner with another resource.”
Warmer water will impact fishery management
Besides maintaining the health of the drinking water, the new collaboration will also benefit fish management in the region.
Elva Lucero, a senior biology student, will soon publish her findings on how black crappie fish are aging and dying earlier from temperature changes to water.
“I found the black crappie are actually growing larger in warmer climates, but they’re not living as long in those warmer climates,” Lucero said. “If they die sooner, they have much fewer reproductive attempts.”
Newbrey suggested these findings pose important questions about fishery management. Lucero added, “Both black and white crappie are very popular for sport fishing. If they’re declining we need to learn how to manage them properly.”
Her study was co-authored by Desensi. “CRK took my data and visualized it for the data we collected in Lake Oliver, Lucero said. “Desensi created a map showing where the crappie are and how big they are respective to temperature.”
Furthermore, Lucero is getting additional data from Riverkeeper on E. Coli levels that she will be able to compare with the health of the stream to the health of the fish.
“Not a lot of people have actually published on aging growth with regards to temperature, so this is cutting-edge stuff,” Lucero said.
This story was originally published October 11, 2023 at 11:51 AM.
