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Volunteers are valuable!
David Casaletto
I will admit it. I am suffering from cabin fever! I look at the lake and the snow covering the hills and I am ready for spring and summer. Fishing, swimming and boating with my granddaughters are my favorite activities - playing Mario Brothers together on the Wii can only go on so long.
One of our outdoor activities is water testing. Every three weeks from May to September we collect lake water samples and take them back to the house for processing. I have been a volunteer for the Lakes of Missouri Volunteer Program (LMVP) for I believe eight years now. In the picture included with this article you will see my daughter Angela and granddaughters Madison and Payton (Payton is under her blanket) heading out on the boat on a sample run. I know it is a sample run because of the red plastic bucket in the picture containing my collection bottles, the Secchi disk, thermometer, and other assorted testing equipment.
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Angela, Madison & Payton on sample run. |
The LMVP was created in 1992 and began with four lakes in the Kansas City area. Since then about 200 volunteers have participated and water samples have been collected on over 50 different lakes around the state. Many lakes have several sample sites. Table Rock Lake, for example, currently has 18 sample sites. In 2009, volunteers sampled 92 sites on 31 public lakes in Missouri.
The goals of the LMVP are: 1) to determine the current water quality based on productivity or trophic state of Missouri's lakes, 2) to monitor for changes in water quality over time, and 3) to educate the public about lake ecology and water quality issues.
I believe the LMVP sampling in Table Rock Lake started near the beginning of the program around 1992. The aspect of water quality that most interests the LMVP is lake productivity. Productivity is gauged by measuring the amount of algae suspended in lake water. Algae are small plants that provide food and oxygen for fish and other aquatic life. While some algae are essential for a healthy lake, too much can have a negative impact on recreational uses and aquatic life. The LMVP also measures the amount of nitrogen and phosphorus in the lake. These two nutrients act as fertilizers, promoting algal growth. In some of our lakes, inorganic solids such as soil particles give the water a brownish color. The LMVP measures the amount of inorganic suspended solids in lakes where it might influence water clarity. All volunteers also take Secchi transparency readings. This is done with a Secchi disk, an eight-inch diameter black and white disk that is lowered into the lake until it disappears, thus providing a measure of water clarity. Lakes in the LMVP program have a wide range of Secchi values from less than 10 inches to over 16 feet.
 
Lowering a Secchi disk (on left) & watching it disappear (on right).
Our testing run starts by driving the boat to our sample locations. We sample at two locations on the Upper James River Arm of the lake. The first is a few miles north of the Cape Fair Bridge on Highway 76 and the second is a few miles south (see map).
After anchoring, we break out the test equipment. Madison will hand me the Secchi disk and my collection bottles. She will help me pour the water from the red bucket into the bottles. I then record the surface water temperature, the condition of the water (calm, rippled or choppy), and the date and time. By this time, Madison will have decided to jump in and get a closer look at water conditions.
After arriving back home, I pass a measured amount of water through a filter provided me by LMVP and I fill and a small 60 ml plastic bottle with lake water. The filters and bottles are stored in our freezer until LMVP staff picks them up. The water samples are analyzed at the University of Missouri-Columbia, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife limnology laboratory. An annual data report is compiled containing the results of the data from Table Rock and all of the public lakes.
 | | Water testing equipment. |
What is exciting is that the data we help obtain is valuable. The Missouri Department of Natural Resources use the LMVP data to help decide which Missouri lakes are placed on the 303(d) list of Impaired Waters. It is also a great way to spend time with my family on the lake and to instill in the next generation the need to protect our environment and hopefully the desire to volunteer their time and effort to the cause. For more information on LMVP or to volunteer, visit their web site at:
www.lmvp.org.
Quote of the Week
"Children of a culture born in a water-rich environment, we have never really learned how important water is to us. We understand it, but we do not respect it."
-- William Ashworth
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