Saturday, July 17, 1999
Residents aid river testing
Bacteria may turn 'streams into sewers'
BY MOLLY HARPER
The Cincinnati Enquirer
NEWPORT — As Licking River minnows darted between discarded bottles and rusted shopping carts Friday morning, two boys got a chemistry lesson on a Newport dock.
Using terms like “titration” and “dissolved oxygen,” 12-year-old Matt Barnes and his brother Michael, 13, explained that they were testing how palatable the water is for aquatic life.
The boys are part of this weekend's Licking River Watershed Watch testing in which volunteers will collect samples from 60 sites along the stream. The samples will be tested for fecal coliform bacteria that seep into the water through storm and sewage runoff.
The bacteria are found in human and animal waste and sewage, and can also indicate other pollutants and bacteria are present.
The same tests were performed last summer and revealed levels as high as 100,000 colonies per 100 milliliters, a high reading that resulted in warnings to avoid contact with the water.
Watershed Watch co-chair Marc Hult said he expects this year's results to be lower, but not because the water quality has improved. Last summer's tests were performed after heavy rainfall had washed through the sewage system into the river. This summer has been dry, so the numbers will be lower.
“The average Joe should still think twice about swimming, fishing or boating, any sort of contact with the wa ter,” said the veteran hydrologist.
Kentucky's steep hills, dense soil and old sewer systems have led to serious runoff pollution in streams and rivers.
“Kentucky spends less than one half of the national average on its sewer systems, but we have a bigger problem than most states,” he said. “There hasn't been a lot of planning in recent years to prevent or reduce the problem and we're seeing the results now.”
Solutions include replacing old sewer systems and putting buffer zones between livestock and waterways. Mr. Hult, who has worked for the U.S. Geological survey for 23 years, is serving on a focus group with Sanitation District 1 to help the administrators decide how to solve the problem.
He said the final stages of sewage treatment take place in waterways, where the sewage breaks down.
“Unless we have healthy streams, they can't do that,” he said. “If we don't do something, our streams will become sewers.”
Volunteer Priscilla Thompson said it's humanity's re sponsibility to be environmentally conscious.
“This is something I just can't put down,” she said. “I've always believed we should take care of the Earth.”
After training analysts at the National Geology Institute, Mr. Hult wasn't sure laymen could handle the meticulous testing procedures.
“I was skeptical volunteers could do this accurately,” he said. “But I was pleasantly surprised. Citizen involvement is key to this project.”
This weekend's check is part of a three-point test of the river this year. The Watershed Watch checked the Licking for pesticides in early spring and will perform a more comprehensive analysis in the fall.
Those results will be presented at a conference in September and then shared with the scientific community. Geologists as far away as Russia will use the data to measure the health of their own streams. Michael and Matt will earn Boy Scout merit badges for their efforts. But Matt has also higher goals in mind.
“I'm doing this because the Ohio River used to be clean enough to swim in, but now we can't get near it,” he said.
“The results we get can lead to change. I want the rivers to be clean enough to swim in again by the time I'm older.”
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