Sampling by students points to cleaner Toledo waterways

11/17/2001

Toledo-area waterways showed an ever-slight improvement in annual tests performed by students from about 25 area schools, although officials note that the results are often influenced by weather conditions when samples are retrieved.

Sediment that is believed to hold heavy industrial pollutants from past discharges is not sampled. The students tested for things such as turbidity, bacteria, solids, dissolved oxygen, acidity, and fertilizer runoff.

Water samples were drawn weeks ago, and results were discussed Thursday at an annual day-long seminar at Lourdes College called the Student Watershed Watch Summit.

Of the parameters tested, bacteria was again among the worst problems - likely a reflection of ongoing problems with area septic tanks, according to Matt Horvat, Maumee River coordinator for the Toledo Metropolitan Area Council of Governments.