Students test Mokelumne River water quality
Several students from the Tokay High School AP Environmental Science class gathered at Hutchins Street Square on Wednesday evening to give a report on water quality in the Mokelumne River.
The students are members of the Storm Drain Detectives, a group of students from Lodi High School, Tokay High, Erma B. Reese Elementary School and Heritage Elementary School. They test the water at several sites along the Mokelumne twice a month to study how stormwater runoff affects local waterways.
“This is the 20th year that we’ve had Storm Drain Detectives monitoring the Mokelumne River,” said Kathy Grant, the watershed program coordinator for the Lodi Public Works Department who oversees the detectives.
According to Brittany Mogler, a senior at Tokay, the students monitor a total of nine sites along the Mokelumne beginning with Site 1, their control site.
Located east of Cluff Avenue near the Solid Waste Transfer Station, Site 1 was chosen because there are no storm drains near it, Mogler said, meaning less pollution from stormwater.
Site 9 is located at the Woodbridge Dam, Mogler said, with the rest of the testing sites located in between.
“The rest of those sites around Lodi Lake is where the elementary students would test,” Mogler said.
The Storm Drain Detectives monitor seven parameters: Precipitation, temperature, dissolved oxygen (DO), turbidity, pH, electrical conductivity and nitrates.
Annika Hauschildt, a Tokay sophomore, was surprised to learn how the recent rainfall affected the river.
“It’s really interesting to compare it to past years, especially drought years,” Hauschildt said.
Hauschildt also mentioned ash from the recent fires which, when washed into stormdrains by the rain, can increase the turbidity — the amount of particles in the water.
Although the Mokelumne’s turbidity remained largely stable over the past year, too much turbidity can block sunlight to plants, smother aquatic wildlife and even carry contaminants such as lead, mercury and bacteria.
Other sources of pollution include nitrates from fertilizers and pesticides used in agriculture. Too many nitrates can lead to an increase in algae, which in turn can lead to an increase in bacteria that can suffocate fish.
Chemicals and other hazardous materials, such as soap used to wash cars in driveways, can also pollute the water, according to Tokay junior Owen Canestrino.
“That water ends up in our homes, in our fields, so keep it clean for everyone,” Canestrino said. “It’s fascinating to learn how delicate our water system is, and how big of an effect humans can have on it in our everyday life.”
Although she acknowledged the importance of Lodi’s agriculture industry, Mogler stressed the importance of finding alternatives to fertilizers and pesticides that could contaminate the river.
“Our households have an impact on it, but also ag as well,” Mogler said. “Working hand in hand is crucial to not only protect our water supply, but also the ag water supply.”