The Iowa Environmental Protection Commission has approved a new three-year contract for monitoring the water quality in the state’s lakes. D-N-R environmental specialist Dan Kendall says the contract continues the partnership with Iowa State University.
They are testing for several things in the lakes, including phosphorus levels. Kendall as the data is used for the Clean Water Act water quality assessments report produced by the D-N-R every two years.
He says the Lake Restoration organizations use the data from this program to prioritize their lakes in their restoration plan. The also use it to track the effectiveness of things like allum treatments in lake restoration efforts.
Kendall says ISU has a new tool that will help them in monitoring lake water quality.
Kendall says this contract cost is more than $1.7 million, a 20% increase.
Kendall was asked by a commissioner if working with public agencies and their increased salary costs is the best way to go. He says the legislature requires they work with public agencies and says it is a delicate balance of working with universities and continually trying to see what they can do to limit costs without reducing services.
