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BEACH ADVISORY. But who posted that sign, and how was that advisory determined?
Located in Ashland, Wisconsin, The Burke Center, a department of Northland College, tests water quality of Lake Superior and surrounding waters regularly throughout the summer. Poised on the convergence of two watersheds and the edge of Lake Superior, Chequamegon Bay provides an excellent location for water quality monitoring. The Mary Griggs Burke Center for Freshwater Innovation looks to identify freshwater issues and develop solutions as well as involve the next generation of water scientists.
Jane Kittaka is one of the undergraduate researchers for the Burke Center who goes into the field every day to collect data and samples from beaches and tributaries in and around Northern Wisconsin. This is Jane’s second summer working at the Applied Research and Environmental Lab (ARELab) at the Burke Center. Two laboratory researchers conduct what is called a sanitary survey on the Ashland beaches. During the sanitary survey the researchers gather samples from multiple locations from June through August, and collect data on turbidity, specific conductance, temperature, as well as information on litter, pollution, and animal presence. Additionally, the Burke Center field team collects water quality samples from lakes, streams, and the Chequamegon Bay regularly to test for Escherichia coli (E. coli), Total Phosphorus, Soluble Reactive Phosphorus, Total Suspended Solids, Suspended Sediment Concentration, and Chlorophyll-a.
When the E. coli sample is brought back to the lab, a lab technician adds a selective media, transfers the sample to a tray that is then sealed and incubated for 18-22 hours. It is vital that the E. coli samples are tested within 8 hours of collection, making farther collection sites a small race against time. Once Jane or one of her associates pulls the tray from the incubation chamber she can immediately see that some tray wells have turned yellow, indicating the presence of total coliform bacteria. When the tray is placed under a UV light and the tray wells fluoresce, this indicates the presence of E. coli.
Last year, the ARELab submitted E. coli samples from various locations surrounding Chequamegon Bay to the University of Milwaukee for DNA sequencing analysis. The preliminary study concluded that samples contained E. coli from sources of ruminant, gull, and human in origin, bringing to light some of the possible pollution sources for that particular contaminant. In streams and tributaries the E. coli was mostly from a ruminant source. E. coli samples taken from some local beach tested positive for gull DNA. This has always been a theorized source of pollution on the local beaches. Finally, the E. coli with DNA markers indicating it originates from everyone’s favorite biped - humans. The human contributed source of indicated E. coli was sampled from the 22nd Avenue West outfall. Further research would be needed to determine these potential sources that contribute to the water quality in Chequamegon Bay.
On the Ashland County beaches, the Burke Center is focused on human health and timely notification to help reduce potential health risk. The data they do collect from the morning field trips is plugged into a database that includes weather data from the local airport. Then, they use this collected data in a national curated water quality model software that help to predict the potential level of E. coli on the beaches. This predictive model works really well for most coastal areas, but the dynamic conditions of Chequamegon Bay make accurate usage of the model difficult at times. When the samples do show an E. coli presence of over 235 MPN/100mL or 1,000MPN/100 mL Jane and her colleagues drive out to the respective beach and put up “Beach Advisory” or “Beach closed” signs. Also, Louie the Bass at Maslowski Beach waves a friendly fin to display the information in a more consumable form for the public. Finally, this information is relayed to the WDNR, the city of Ashland, and Ashland County Health Department officials. For Jane, some of the most meaningful interactions with her work are when people engage with her at the collection sites. They ask about what she’s measuring, using, and finding, and she’s happy to oblige and inform.
When the Research Team from Upham Woods Outdoor Education Center visited Jane they got a chance to compare the DOTS tools alongside the Burke Center laboratory grade equipment and take some data from the Lake Superior shoreline. The team was pleasantly surprised to learn that their equipment gave data that was only small margins from what Jane and Erica found their read outs to be. Though, that difference could be attributed to where the data is collected as the Team took data from the shore while Erica from the Burke Center waded in. When Erica tried some of the DOTS equipment from her position further from the shoreline the readings were only slightly different from her own collected data.
Overall, the Mary Griggs Burke Center for Freshwater Innovation is working toward a scientific story of their own. One that includes a body of data to inform research and policy, public awareness and safety, and developing the next generation of water stewards. ●
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