Comprehensive 3-year watershed baseline data collection project draws to a close

As a partnering organization with the Eagle Creek Watershed Alliance (ECWA), the IUPUI-Center for Earth and Environmental Science (CEES) has finished aiding in the completion of a second 319 grant as provided through the Indiana Department of Environmental Management. Students and faculty working with the Center conducted monthly water quality sampling, over a three year period, on Eagle Creek Reservoir and its tributaries. The purpose of the sampling was to continue to measure water quality changes, target sources of pollution, and provide data for future work to improve the overall quality of the Eagle Creek Watershed. Water samples collected from the 11 sites were analyzed for nitrate and phosphorus (common fertilizer pollutants), chloride, atrazine (and agricultural herbicide), sediment, and E. coli bacteria (associate with human and other animal waste). Data from some of the sites will support the National Water Quality Initiative (NWQI) in one of three critical watersheds selected in Indiana for this initiative. Approximately 580 samples were collected and 11,600 laboratory analyses performed throughout the period of the grant!