For Immediate Release June 15, 1999 Statewide, all media through June 29, 1999 For More Information, contact Todd Campbell DNR IOWATER coordinator, at 515/774-2051, or Kristen Goldsmith, DNR information specialist, at 515/281-0856. VOLUNTEER WATER QUALITY MONITORS GET READY FOR 1999 GREAT AMERICAN SECCHI DIP-IN DES MOINES -- Volunteers from around the country are getting ready for the 1999 Great American Secchi Dip-In. The Dip-In is an international effort in which volunteers produce a "snapshot" of the transparency of water in the United States and Canada. The summer of 1999 marks the sixth year of the annual event. From June 26 through July 11, more than 2,500 volunteers from volunteer monitoring programs in the United States and Canada will measure transparency in their favorite lake, reservoir, river or estuary. Todd Campbell, IOWATER Coordinator for the DNR, said many Iowans will be taking part in the dip-in by measuring Iowa's water quality. Volunteers use an instrument called a "Secchi disk," a flat, horizontal, black and white disk that is lowered from a rope into the water until it is no longer visible. The disk itself is named after the Jesuit priest, Pietro Angelo Secchi, who used the disk more than 150 years ago. The depth the disk is no longer visible is a measure of the transparency of the water. Transparency is affected by the color of the water and by particles of silt or clay or small plants called algae, and therefore is a measure of some forms of pollution. Previous dip-in's have provided valuable information about water quality, said Campbell. The maps made each year have shown considerable regional differences in transparency. Lakes in the northern parts of the United States and in Canada typically have the clearest water, while lakes in agricultural regions of the Midwest have some of the lowest transparencies. Transparencies found during the dip-in range from 1-inch to more than 65 feet. Almost 700 sites have been monitored during the dip-in for four or more years, and as data accumulates, it may be possible to see if the transparency of regions of the country is changing over time. Sponsored by the North American Lake Management Society and the United States Environmental Protection Agency, the dip-in is directed by Kent State University biologists Dr. Robert Carlson and Professor David Waller, and KSU geographer Dr. Jay Lee. Carlson said that he wanted to find a way to produce a scientific picture of the water quality of the world's lakes. Such a project could only be done using the thousands of volunteers who routinely measure transparency in local volunteer programs, he added. The dip-in is a chance for volunteers to think and contribute globally by taking a measurement in their local environment. Campbell said, Fortunately, there are volunteer monitors who record changes in water quality year after year. Without their observations, our environment might change unnoticed. ----------------------------------------------------------------- To get off the IOWA-TOPICS list, send any message to: [log in to unmask]