TWS Online Main Page

FALL 1997

Measuring nitrogen in soils

Reading, writing and the Web

Environmental monitoring program unites school and community groups

Return to top

School operates state-certified lab

As deals go, it's very sweet. And it's about as far from "canned science" as you can get.

In Washington state, students in Selkirk Junior/Senior High School's environmental technology class are very fortunate. They're not doing prefabricated, canned curriculum science experiments. Instead they're operating the onsite wastewater treatment plant and monitoring pH, residual chlorine, and dissolved oxygen for reporting purposes. And graduates of the class are eligible to work in the school laboratory during the summer and earn a respectable $7.50 per hour.

Selkirk Science Teacher John Kinney is also very lucky. His combination classroom/science laboratory is actually a state-certified regional environmental laboratory. With generous grants received from the Toyota/Tapestry Foundation and the Dorr Foundation two years ago, he was able to equip his laboratory with testing equipment from Hach that enables the class to process wastewater samples for biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), total suspended solids (TSS) and fecal coliform. In addition, the students monitor drinking water, running 40 to 50 presence/absence tests for coliforms each month. With the revenue generated from these testing activities, the lab is entirely self-supporting. That keeps Selkirk's principal and the school board very happy.

But the folks who might be the happiest about this whole arrangement are the city administrators of Metaline Falls, Metaline and Ione, and the operators of the Boundary Dam hydroelectric project. They rely on Selkirk's environmental laboratory and student-generated test results to meet regulatory requirements and protect public health. Prior to Selkirk's accreditation, wastewater samples had to be transported at least 60 miles for analysis. And drinking water samples had to be sent to Spokane, 100 miles away. As customers of the Selkirk Environmental Testing Lab, today these plants gladly pay a nominal fee to get analyses performed locally and to receive the assurance that students will report test results to either the state's department of ecology or public health.

Selkirk Junior/Senior High School is located halfway between Ione and Metaline Falls, a stone's throw from the Canadian border. Serving about 210 students and not connected to any municipal waste collection system, the school wastewater plant treats about 5000 gallons of water per day before discharging to the Pend Orielle River. Students operate the plant and monitor effluent to assure that receiving waters are protected from harmful bacteria or over-chlorinated discharges.

Teacher John Kinney is the driving force behind this unique, innovative program. Having spent several years in an industrial laboratory before acquiring his wastewater treatment operator's license, he appreciates the challenges of analytical detective work. In his proposal to set up the regional wastewater testing laboratory, he states, this lab "...will train students in the most basic environmental analyses, with emphasis on analytical quality control, development of laboratory skills, creative problem solving, active involvement, investigation and inquiry. Students will engage in real life application of principles acquired in biology, chemistry, physics and mathematics."

Kinney is proud of the quality of work his students produce. "I tell the kids on the first day of class, 'This is for real. Don't screw up.' And the students do a good job running the tests. Helping each other. Showing up when they're supposed to, even outside of school hours. It's been a very successful program from the standpoint of our students, our customers, and the regulating authorities."

The Environmental Testing Lab is equipped with a DR/2010 Portable Datalogging Spectrophotometer, a 2100P Portable Turbidimeter, a Chlorine Pocket Colorimeter(TM) Instrument and incubators, media and broth for microbiological testing. With surplus revenues, Kinney was able to purchase several Hach test kits for the biology classes at Selkirk. "We love Hach. What else can I say?" he laughs.

The environmental science course Kinney teaches is an elective class, attracting mostly juniors and seniors. He says it can get a bit crazy when a new semester starts and he has to get new students quickly up to speed so as not to disrupt the laboratory program and the reporting to state agencies.

"This class starts all over again every four and a half months, so I have to train new students as fast as possible. And that's where Hach comes in. The instruments and iconed procedures make it easy for kids to learn rapidly. I like the step-by-step approach and in many cases, I don't have to demonstrate a procedure at all -- I just tell them to follow the pictures in the manual that we have taped to the wall. With Hach, it's all pretty easy."

School operates state-certified lab

Reading, writing and the Web

Environmental monitoring program unites school and community groups

Return to top

Measuring nitrogen in soils

By Jim Schuth, Instructor, Hach Technical Training Center

(Editor's note: This article is third in a series about soil analysis. Consult your previous issues of Teaching Water Science for articles about identifying physical soil characterstics and measuring pH in soils.)

Nitrogen is used by plants in a variety of ways, including growth and cell division, protein synthesis, and efficient use of water. Of the 16 essential plant nutrients, nitrogen is the nutrient most likely to be deficient worldwide. People who grow plants, farmers as well as homeowners, apply nitrogen-based fertilizer to compensate for nitrogen deficiencies in their soil. Frequently, over-fertilization occurs. Most excess nitrogen is wasted when it washes out of soil or plants and into rivers or leaches into groundwater. Then it becomes a contaminant and an environmental concern.

Nitrogen is absorbed by plants in various forms; for example, ammonia nitrogen and nitrates. Nitrate is the final form and can come from many sources, including chemical fertilizers and biological processes.

Soil can lose nitrogen in several ways:

1. Volatilization -- Nitrogen fertilizer, improperly worked into the soil, is lost in gaseous form to the air.
2. Anaerobic denitrification -- When soil is flooded, oxygen is absent (anaerobic) and nitrogen is converted to nitrogen gas by anaerobic soil bacteria. Then it is lost to the air.
3. Leaching -- Leaching, one of the most significant ways to lose nitrogen from soil, occurs when nitrogen is dissolved by rain water or irrigation water. It runs off into natural bodies of water or percolates into the water table. Leaching is common in areas of heavy rainfall or where irrigation is used.

Nitrate in groundwater is a major environmental and public health concern. High nitrate levels in drinking water (>10 mg/L NO₃ - N) have been linked to health problems (i.e., methemoglobinemia) resulting in miscarriages or blue baby syndrome.

School operates state-certified lab

Measuring nitrogen in soils

Environmental monitoring program unites school and community groups

Return to top

Reading, writing and the Web

Teachers and students in Maryland's Frederick Douglass Community Schools (FDCS) are using water quality testing to monitor the Patuxent River. They're running comparability tests to confirm data accuracy. And they're posting test results on the World Wide Web. It's a multi-school, multi-grade, interdisciplinary approach to using technology that puts kids to work conducting real-world science.

Three years ago, at Mattaponi Elementary School in Upper Marlboro, students got their first taste of environmental education via Stream Teams. In the fall of 1996, educators decided to take their science curriculum to new heights by establishing a water testing lab at Frederick Douglass High School (FDHS) and equipping it with a DR/2010 Datalogging Spectrophotometer. Since that time, approximately 300 students from nearby middle and elementary schools have learned how to run tests in the lab. Then, using Hach test kits assigned to their schools, they go to a sampling spot along the Patuxent River or its tributary and run tests for CO₂, pH, turbidity, dissolved oxygen, alkalinity, hardness, nitrate and phosphate. Test results, along with a split sample, are sent to the water lab for verification.

At FDHS, accuracy is confirmed with the DR/2010, and data is published to the Web site. According to chief hydrotechnician Bob Cooke, chemistry teacher at FDHS, even the younger students are doing a fine job. "The kids love running tests with the easy-to-use Hach test kits. And the FDHS kids easily mastered the DR/2010. They come in after school to collect and run samples. I'm fortunate to work with motivated students and teachers."

The Patuxent River drains a watershed of approximately 900 square miles and empties into the Chesapeake Bay. In recent years, the accumulation of silt deposits and fertilizer runoff from agricultural activities have negatively impacted water quality. Rapid development along the Washington, D.C.­ Baltimore corridor has further strained the river's ecosystem. Local citizens' groups, state agencies, and even the USEPA study the Patuxent area, developing strategies to alleviate population pressures on this precious resource. Data collected by the FDCS will be a valuable addition to that generated by other groups.

The FDCS water lab program emphasizes conservation and community service, too. One class (eighth grade) takes a field trip to study the crabbing industry; one class (fifth grade) cleans up a nearby stream; another class (eleventh grade) mentors a group of youngsters in the lab. At one school's sampling site, a beaver moved in and dammed up the stream. Now the fifth and eleventh grade teams of students are writing letters to personnel at the Dept. of Natural Resources to find out the particulars of relocating this beaver and replacing the trees he cut down. "It's a way to integrate science, social studies, language arts and other disciplines into a long-term, dynamic project," says Cooke. "Even though this is our first year, we've accomplished a great deal."

To access data at their Web site, point your browser to http://www.radix.net/~senior. To find out more about Patuxent River studies, go to http://kabir.cbl.cees.edu/PLM/PWA.html. Be sure to visit Hach at http://www.hach.com for product information, technical assistance and training opportunities.

School operates state-certified lab

Measuring nitrogen in soils

Reading, writing and the Web

Return to top

Environmental monitoring program unites
school and community groups

"It's one thing to talk about how bad the environment is. But it's another thing to go out and do something about it." Seventh-grader Anna Appapillai made this observation, demonstrating that she understands the meaning of the adage, "Talk is cheap."

Anna and 120 of her classmates in New York are participating in the H.C. Crittenden RiverWatch Project (HCCRWP), and have expended considerable time and energy making their community a cleaner, safer, more pleasant place to live. Through a unique, hands-on curriculum focusing on scientific problems, these students are monitoring local rivers and raising awareness about local pollution problems. They've completed a broad array of water quality tests, made presentations to community groups about their findings, sponsored environmental fund-raising projects, and received recognition at the local, regional and national levels. HCCRWP participants don't just talk about environmental problems; they take action.

According to H.C. Crittenden Middle School science teacher Christine Pecora, "If you give students the opportunity to do hands-on research, you will facilitate students learning through problem-solving, set the groundwork for further science education at the high school and college levels, and empower students to be change agents on environmental issues." Pecora has spearheaded the program since 1991, each year involving up to 120 students, and has seen it grow from monitoring one site on the Wampus River for five parameters to monitoring 10 sites on six river systems for 10 parameters.

Today, the students test for alkalinity, ammonia, chlorides, dissolved oxygen, carbon dioxide, pH, phosphates, and nitrates using Hach portable test kits. Turbidity measurements are accomplished with the 2100P Portable Turbidimeter. After finding elevated levels of nitrates and phosphates in surface water, the students, in conjunction with the Green Acres Garden Club, conducted a Community Water Testing Day to determine whether local private wells were impacted by these high levels. Some wells did have nitrate concentration levels above 10 mg/L, providing the students with an opportunity to educate owners about the dangers of overfertilizing lawns and gardens, improperly maintaining septic tanks, and extensive use of phosphate detergents.

An annual report, summarizing the students' findings, is produced each year and presented to the North Castle Town Board and Conservation Board. In 1994, the data was so impressive that it was forwarded to Rich Associates, a private aquifer group, and New York City's Department of Environmental Conservation. Later that same year, Governor Mario Cuomo recognized the HCCRWP as a steward that protects and preserves New York waters. Since then, HCCRWP has been heaped with honors from local, regional, state and even national organizations.

Pecora is a tireless advocate for enabling young people to address serious environmental programs and make a difference in their communities. During the summers, she gives workshops to upwards of 25 teachers at Purchase College on how to implement a river watch program in their schools. She's also on a committee organized by the New York City Department of Environmental Protection to develop strategies to implement watershed protection activities in existing curriculum in upstate schools.

What drives her, makes her so passionate about her program? "Part of my civic responsibility as a teacher is to avoid overwhelming children with our environmental problems," says Pecora. "HCCRWP is the result of listening to children's fears about the future of their planet and helping them see there is a way to make the world a better place."

Under leadership of Christine Pecora (left), the RiverWatch Project continues to receive local, state and national awards.Students use Hach color comparators to measure trace elements in natural waters.During Community Water Testing Day, even parents and younger siblings get to experience water quality testing.

Return to top

H2OU is a subsite of hach.com.   Send us your comments!
Copyright © 1996-2007 Hach Company

Copyright and trademark information

This page was last updated 08/16/06