On a recent sunny morning, a group of students from Oakview Middle School weren’t sitting in class, they were splashing around in Paint Creek.
No, the kids weren’t cutting class, they were preparing for World Water Monitoring Day with other schools across the state, and helping out the Clinton River Watershed Council.
The students gathered in Children’s Park and Meek’s Park in Downtown Lake Orion on Oct. 6 to test the water in Paint Creek for chemicals such as run-off including phosphates and nitrates; as well as the creek’s physical surroundings for macroinvertebrates.
‘They are checking for litter, erosion and macroinvertebrates, to see how healthy the river is for animal life,? said Sarah Hunter, a teacher at Oakview. ‘They will bring the data back to class and give the creek an overall rating, from excellent to poor.?
That information will then be sent on to the Clinton River Watershed Council, who will be collecting similar data from other area schools.
Other schools were also out on Oct. 6 testing water in their areas.
‘The council then does a report using all of the schools? data,? Hunter said. ‘This is Oakview’s second year participating in this.?
The Clinton River Watershed Council’s Stream Leaders Program provides students with an educational experience in water quality monitoring, data interpretation and citizen action, according to the council’s website at www.crwc.org.
The council also provides general information to local officials concerning water quality.
World Water Monitoring Day is Oct. 18, and America’s Clean Water Foundation encouraged people to test water in their area from Sept. 18-Oct. 18.
The foundation described the event as ‘a worldwide opportunity to positively impact the health of rivers, lakes and estuaries and other waterbodies.?
Volunteer monitoring groups, water quality agencies, students and the general public were all invited to participate and test water for the four indicators of water quality: pH, dissolved oxygen and turbidity.
For more information visit www.worldwatermonitoringday.org.