Harlan High School Monitors Local Iowa Watersheds

Students in Bernie Hermanson's chemistry class at Harlan High School in Harlan, Iowa get to do some real-world, hands-on work studying two local watersheds using a system that integrates Hydrolab and OTT products to provide a remote monitoring solution.

Hermanson went to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to find water quality data for two local watersheds, and was told it was not tracked. He decided that gathering the data, and monitoring how water quality parameters change over the short and long terms would be a great class project. To do that, he secured a Non-Point Water Quality Grant through the DNR to collect baseline data from two local watersheds. Hach Environmental employees Steve Fischer, Regional Manager, and Ash Downing, Technical Support, worked together with Hermanson to create a custom, turn-key solution that is instrumental to the success of the two-year project.

Together, Bernie Hermanson and the Hach Environmental team were able to integrate a DataSonde 4X with a LogoSens station manager data logger to log data hourly. Hydras3 software receives the data, and every four hours uses an on-site modem and land line to download the data to a laptop computer in Hermanson's classroom. The system is powered by a 12-volt battery and solar panel, and data backup redundancy is included in case any component in the system has a problem.

Hach Environmental installation experts Steve Kasprzyk and Joe Prell then traveled to Iowa to set up two stations to monitor Mosquito Creek near Portsmouth, Iowa, and the West Fork of the West Nishnabotna River near Corley, Iowa. Parameters tracked include dissolved oxygen, turbidity, nitrate-nitrogen, temperature, total dissolved solids, pH and conductivity. The project will operate 24 hours a day 7 days a week from April through November until May 31, 2006.

"The stations provide automated real-time data acquisition, and the data is transferred back to the classroom computer, so the students don't have to run out to record and download data – it all happens automatically," notes Fischer. A script then creates a Web page where the data for the last 24 hours and the last 30 days is automatically posted at http://hs.harlan.k12.ia.us/science/dataonline.htm. This set-up follows federal mandates to make such data more accessible by various user groups.

The project has been well received on many fronts. The students are excited, and the USDA's National Resources Conservation Service and the U.S. EPA have provided support. Interest and compliments have been received from schools around the country, as well as Canada.

If you need a complete, integrated, turnkey solution to solve you water monitoring challenge, turn to the expert team at Hach Environmental for unmatched expertise to develop, set up, and support a custom system to meet your needs.