“SNAPSHOT” OF THE IOWA WATERSHED
“What If Lightning Lasted, Not For An Instant But Forever, Each
Crackling Bolt Joining The Thousands, The Millions Already Pulsating
From Earth To Heaven?
What If The Mountains, Like Massive Molars Were Ripped Up Roots And All And Deposited Beneath the Ocean's Pillow?
What If the Moon, Like Anyone's Heart Began A Bright Red Pumping, Deluging All Land to the Height of Every Horse's Bridal?….
“…Enough! I've Had Enough of this Pestilent Race, This Great
Polluter To Whom Nothing's Sacred. So, Let Lightening Live.
Let The Mountains Roll. Let The Blood-Moon Spill its Precious Measure.
Let A Great Book Fall Open, The Pages Blank, Let Us Write A New Beginning.”
This poem called “After Words” from “After Lightning Before Thunder/A
Collection of Poems” by Tracy Alan White (1995) and published by the
author makes a strong statement about our impact on the Earth. Do we
deserve to continue dwelling upon this most splendid of all the
planets? Let's do a test….This past week about 50 concerned
citizens roamed the Scott County countryside testing the
waters….literally.
With pH strips in tow along with kits that determine the concentrations
of CHLORIDE, DISSOLVED OXYGEN, NITRATE-NITROGEN & NITRITE-NITROGEN, PHOSPATE, TRANSPARENCY, and TEMPERATURE, I set out with two new
acquaintances, Cathy and David. We traveled from a very shaded
stream by Le Claire to Bud Creek near Princeton that empties into the
MISSISSIPPI RIVER and out Lost Grove Road towards three other
destinations.
It was a sunny, slightly breezy day. This “SNAPSHOT”
sampling, as it is called, was the seventh of a bi-annual gathering of
information on the water quality in our area's watershed. Partners of
Scott County Watershed that is affiliated with the Scott County Soil
& Water Conservation District spearheads the community
project. It is a great day to bring your family or school groups
along to see just how many waterways flow through the area and how
humans impact our natural resources.
The NITRATES are of particular importance because runoff from farming
fertilizers, feedlots or business waste can raise the naturally
occurring compound to unhealthy levels. An article in the April
9th addition of the Des Moines Register tells of a new system to remove
NITRATES from river water. If successful, it could be used
elsewhere. Many areas across IOWA have high levels of NITRATES,
especially in the spring when use of farm field fertilizers is up….Back
to the collecting…
For those who had nets, macroinvertebrates ranging from crawling water
beetles, snails, sowbugs or crawdads could be looked for and brought
back. It was a great opportunity to meet new people and to be
reminded just how beautiful IOWA is once you get out of that vehicle
and how valuable the streams and waterways are. To check out the
results, which should be available in the next several weeks, you can
go to www.Partners-PSCW.com or you can contact Sara Klindt at
563-391-1403 ext.3.
For information on the newspaper article, go to
www.desmoinesregister.com and also check out the site www.iowater.net
for sampling information from your county.
As always CPR: CONSERVE/PARTICIPATE/RECYCLE
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