Cloudy skies. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 83F. Winds light and variable..

Variable clouds with scattered thunderstorms. Low 66F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 50%.

Biologist Amy Krzton-Presson holds a clear tube that tests for water clarity.

The samples volunteers take are sent to a Purdue laboratory to be further examined.

Biologist Amy Krzton-Presson holds a clear tube that tests for water clarity.

The samples volunteers take are sent to a Purdue laboratory to be further examined.

Organizers are seeking volunteers to help study the health of the Wabash River and gain a new appreciation of a significant national water resource.

The Wabash River Enhancement Corporation’s bi-annual Wabash Sampling Blitz is Sept. 9 and 10 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. The WREC is a non-profit organization that manages and preserves the Wabash’s watersheds, or the lands that surround and sit under a body of water.

This event allows volunteers to discover lesser-known areas of the Wabash while also helping preserve local watersheds by assisting the WREC in efforts to tame the changing environment and banks around the Wabash, according to the WREC and its sponsors.

Amy Krzton-Presson became the watershed coordinator for the WREC in April.

“It’s a great opportunity for people because they get firsthand experience of looking at streams and looking at how the land use impacts the streams they’re sampling, and we get some data out of it,” Krzton-Presson said. “It’s simple because all the instructions are online. You don’t have to have any knowledge about the river.”

An average volunteer typically spends three hours with the WREC for the blitz, Krzton-Presson said. Volunteers arrive at a check-in desk between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. on one of the callout days to receive a checklist, a 120-centimeter-long test tube, various testing strips and an optional pair of waders, or rubber jumpsuit used to stay dry.

Volunteers then drive to three to five different sites and perform tests to gather data like pH levels, temperatures, water clarity and phosphate levels.

The WREC receives grants from the Indiana Department of Environmental Management to perform water monitoring tests and water quality education, and the sampling blitz is the combination of those two priorities.

The sampling blitz is also sponsored by the Tippecanoe County Partnership for Water Quality, a coalition of local governments in the county that work together to provide cleanup efforts for the river, water quality education for the towns they govern and outreach for community events.

Amy Estes is a stormwater quality educator for this department who works closely with the WREC.

“The sampling blitz is a great way for people to learn about our local waterways,” Estes said. “After taking part in this citizen science event, we are hoping people take initiative to get more involved in helping protect and improve water quality in Tippecanoe County.”

The volunteers in the past ranged from Purdue students, those from local corporations and even home-educated students who use this opportunity as a scientific field trip, Krzton-Presson said.

“The overall experience is really exciting for people,” she said. “Some Purdue students never make it off campus, so to send them to more rural areas and see different parts of the river is pretty cool.”

The Wabash River is about 500 miles long, running mostly through Indiana and part of Illinois. The Wabash flows into the Ohio River, which flows into the Mississippi and all the way to the Gulf of Mexico.

The hydronym Wabash comes from the word Waapaahšiiki, or “White-stone River.” The history of the name dates back to the late 1600s, said former Indiana University linguistics professor Michael McCaffrey.

“Clearly you can see that the Wabash is brown,” Krzton-Presson said, gesturing. “Historically, it was crystal clear water, and you’d be able to see the stones. This change is caused by erosion in the water, either pollution from farmlands or erosion on the stream banks.”

This year is the 50th anniversary of the 1972 Clean Water Act, which requires states to submit periodic reports on the condition of their rivers, streams, lakes and estuaries to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The original purpose of the Clean Water Act was to have all bodies of U.S. water be fishable and swimmable by 1983.

This year, the Environmental Integrity Project released its annual assessment that found 50% of all rivers, streams and creeks in the U.S. are too impaired by pollution to be safe for swimming and recreation. Indiana has 24,395 total miles of rivers and streams considered impaired, the most of any state this year, according to the findings released in April.

“According to the nature conservancy, the Wabash only contributes 1 to 2% of water to the Gulf of Mexico each year, but contributes 11% of the nutrients pollution going into the gulf,” Krzton-Presson said. “A ton of things like fertilizer and sewer overflows that are going into (the Wabash) and adding things like phosphorus and nitrogen.”

The Gulf of Mexico “Dead Zone” is an area of low oxygen that can kill fish and marine life near the bottom of the sea, measuring around 6,300 miles, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. With only 2 degrees of separation from the Mississippi River, the Wabash is contributing to this issue, Presson said.

Krzton-Presson hopes volunteers and spectators will have a new appreciation and care for the Wabash River, and not just see it as a stream they drive past every day.

“We’ve had volunteers that grew up around here, and they go to streams that were down the road from their house,” Krzton-Presson said. “Getting in the water, testing the water clarity and pH levels, it just provides a different way of thinking about the land around them.”

Volunteer registration closes Sunday at 5 p.m. Register at wabashriver.net/wabash-sampling-blitz.

Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.

Error! There was an error processing your request.

Have the latest local news delivered right to your mailbox twice weekly every Tuesday and Friday.

If you're interested in submitting a Letter to the Editor, click here.

Sorry, there are no recent results for popular commented articles.