Protecting Water Quality in Iowa

William Stigliani, director of UNI's Center for Energy and Environmental Education, and Maureen Clayton, assistant professor of biology, are leading an interdisciplinary team of nine faculty and 14 students from the departments of Biology, Chemistry, Earth Science and Mathematics in a two-year project to protect water quality in Iowa's lakes. This research project was made possible by grants from the Roy J. Carver Charitable Trust and the Iowa Space Grant Consortium.

Iowa is one of the worst states in the nation when it comes to water quality, according to Stigliani, an environmental chemist. Because nearly all lakes and rivers in Iowa are near agricultural land, the study addresses the harmful effects of agricultural run off.

During summer 1999 the team sampled water quality, studied maps of Iowa's geography, land use, elevation, slope and erosion potential of two lakes: Silver Lake in Delaware County and Lake Casey in Tama County. 

Once the cause of the water pollution is determined, the next step will be to assess how water quality could change in the future depending on economic development in the watershed. As the final step, the team will recommend ways to mitigate the pollution in the two lakes and will then monitor the effectiveness of these measures.

This is a wonderful learning experience for the students,Æ Stigliani notes. Not only are they becoming proficient at using research techniques in real-life situations, they are also becoming aware of the importance of a multi-disciplinary approach to solving environmental problems.