Since December 2013, the Dow Science and Sustainability Education Center has been funded by The Dow Chemical Company. The purpose of the Dow SSEC is to educate those on the issues that are crucial to the Saginaw Bay Watershed and to promote the importance of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education. The Dow SSEC also works in close ties with The Saginaw Bay Environmental Science Institute, as both organizations are operated on external grants to study the needs of the local environment. The Dow SSEC teams include SVSU faculty, high school teachers, undergraduate students and high school students.
Team “Soiled It!” examined soil and water samples from agricultural and urban sites to determine how agricultural practices affect nutrient flow into the Saginaw Bay Watershed, and to compare water quality from runoff in agricultural and urban sites. Individual projects evaluated (1) wind movement of phosphorus/soil into vegetated filter strips (VFS), (2) the effect of drainage tiles on nutrient loss in crop fields, (3) nutrient loss and E. coli levels from organic versus conventional fertilizers, and (4) nutrient and E. Coli levels between urban and agricultural runoff. Water samples were tested for pH, ammonia, soluble reactive phosphate (SRP), nitrate, dissolved oxygen, and E. coli/coliform levels. Soil samples were tested for pH, nitrate, ammonia, and SRP. Results showed higher bacteria levels in urban sites and with use of organic (animal manure) fertilizer, higher SRP (indicative of soil wind erosion) in VFS to the east (downwind), higher nutrients in urban runoff, and no difference in soil nutrient levels above and between field drainage tiles. Information from these studies will be used to design more detailed studies in the future, in efforts to improve water quality in the Saginaw Bay Watershed.
Link to website: Soiled it