Barb Liukkonen, Water Resources Center and Minnesota Sea Grant, 612-625-9256

Forty-seven volunteers in Minnesota are collecting water samples from their favorite lake or stream this summer to test for the presence of E. coli bacteria. They split the sample they collect and send half to a certified lab for analysis and take the rest home where they analyze it using two simple test kits. Volunteers are monitoring 24 sites on 15 different lakes and rivers in 11 Minnesota counties. So far they’ve detected a few sites that exceed the state standard for E. coli bacteria on a regular basis and a few sites that have been occasionally high. Many volunteers have been pleased to find that the sites they are monitoring have very low bacteria counts and do not present a human health risk for recreational use.

Their work is part of a six-state regional project assessing the accuracy and reliability of those test kits when used by volunteers. The three-year study, funded through the Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES) is evaluating six different test kits, including the Coliscan® EasyGel and 3M Petrifilm™products that Minnesota volunteers are using. The Water Resources Center is the fiscal agent and Barb Liukkonen is coordinating the project. Five other states are in the project: IA, WI, MI, IN, and OH.

The research project team received the 2006 national Gold Team Award from the Association of Natural Resource Extension Professionals at the association’s annual conference in Park City, Utah, in May.

Posted in News, Lakes |