FRIDAY MAY 2, 2008 Last modified:
Monday, April 21, 2008 10:00 AM CDT

Students test water for River Watch
by Jennifer Johnson, Daily News

Five students in Campbell, Minn., are discovering their water research matters. A group of eighth and ninth graders at Campbell-Tintah School are devoting their time to River Watch, a student program that monitors the quality of water from local streams and rivers. The Bois de Sioux Watershed District takes the data from Campbell and other schools into consideration when making their management decisions.

"It's used by real agencies in real life," said Roy Mayeda, a high school science teacher at Campbell-Tintah who heads the project. "And the students understand that this is a chance to do something that actually counts."

Armed with electronic sensors and other equipment, they head to the river once a month and conduct tests that measure the temperature, acidity and oxygen content. Students from Minnesota, North Dakota and Manitoba, Canada, are involved in the project, which spans the Red River basin.

In Campbell, students draw samples from the Rabbit River. One project students are keeping an eye on is the North Ottawa Project, an impoundment the Bois de Sioux Watershed District placed within the Rabbit River to store floodwater.

"They're trying to settle out some of the particulates and see how that is affecting the water project," Mayeda said. "The data can help confirm or dispute that."

With a lot of dissolved materials in the river, the students want to find out what's in there, he said. The electronic sensor students use also pick up on dissolved oxygen within the water, which helps determine if aquatic life can be sustained.

Students perform data analysis, check for water clarity, temperature and salinity, but they don't do it entirely on their own. Wayne Goeken, who started the Red River Watershed program, drives down from near Grand Forks to help train. And as each student learns to set up the equipment, Mayeda believes it's good practice for the real world. Even if they don't plan on becoming a water quality consultant, a lot of jobs require setting up a machine to certain specifications.

"You may not know the specifics on the equipment, but you understand the concept," he said.

The students will continue to sample throughout the summer at any of the active sites along the Red River to the Hudson Bay.

"If water isn't flowing, they're not interested," said Mayeda. "Basically, we'll sample until there's ice."

One thing students are hoping to attend with their findings is the International Water Conference in March. During one session, River Watch professionals from the United States and Canada gather to present information and exchange ideas. Yearly input from students is also a part of the discussion and they usually put together a presentation of graphics and texts.

Students already spend half a school day sampling from the river, and the program competes with other sports and music activities they are involved in. But the group is clearly devoted.

"It's good to see them taking an interest in the environment around them," said Mayeda. "They have a personal stake in this. They want to see what is really going on out there."