This month's lead story comes from Ross Evelsizer at the Northeast Iowa RC&D, focusing on the quality and sustainability of the Northeastern Iowa's watersheds. Northeast Iowa Resource Conservation & Development, or RC&D as it’s commonly called, has been coordinating water quality monitoring in northeast Iowa watersheds since 1999, marking this as the 25th anniversary. This annual effort started in the Upper Iowa River watershed, but has expanded to include the Upper Wapsipinicon and Turkey River watersheds. The Upper Iowa River Watershed is located in a very distinct geologic region known as the “Driftless Area”, a region that lies within the larger Upper Mississippi River Watershed. The Upper Iowa River Watershed, which is located in the farthest northeast corner of the Iowa and southeast corner of Minnesota, is known for its towering limestone bluffs, hardwood forests, public natural areas, exceptional fishery, trout streams, waterfalls and abundant wildlife. Samples have been monthly, from April through October, at three locations along the main channel of the Upper Iowa River and 27 locations near the mouth of major tributaries. This data provides a snapshot of the entire watershed on a given day each month (e.g., 2nd Tuesday) and allows the comparison of one stream/watershed to the next. Water quality data for the Upper Iowa River Watershed can be found at https://data.upperiowariver.org. The Upper Wapsipinicon River Watershed Management Authority started water sampling with the help from RC&D in 2015. Monthly samples are gathered from 22 locations across the UWRW. The samples are analyzed for concentrations of E. coli Bacteria, Nitrate, Total Phosphate as P, Chloride, Sulfate, and Total Suspended Solids. |
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