Students determine lake safety

WASILLA -- Students at Burchell High School have been testing water quality each year at local lakes since 1999. According to their findings, while sometimes local swimming holes are unsafe to swim in, Fred Meyer, which helps fund the tests, has not contributed to the pollution of Wasilla Lake.

"We've yet to find anything that has gone into the lake," said Burchell science teacher Tim Lundt. "Things haven't changed with the two drainage sites for two years."

The Wasilla Fred Meyer was required to build adequate drains for its parking lot because of its close proximity to Wasilla Lake. Students in Lundt's summer ecology classes test for suspended solids and total petroleum hydrocarbons to check whether Fred Meyer has contributed to pollution of Wasilla Lake. They use the same tests and equipment used by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to check for water quality.

The two-week ecology course also tests the local swimming holes for E. coli to determine whether or not the lakes are safe to swim in. Students built kiosks to alert lake patrons of high levels of E. coli when present. The city of Wasilla does not have any regulations regarding lake quality and swimming, so Burchell students have no authority to close a lake, but the students test and post the outcomes as a community service advisory.

Tests are done at the swimming areas of Wasilla Lake, Finger Lake and Lake Lucille. E. coli is used as an indicator of other dangers in the water; an increase of duck feces in the lakes result in an increase of E. coli. Lundt said the reason humans like the swimming holes is the same reason the ducks gather around -- the sandy beaches. The EPA says that anything more than 225 colonies per 100 milliliter sample is considered unsafe; students have found levels higher than this in the swimming holes.

"Typically, we see spikes throughout the summer," Lundt said.

If a swimmer decides to take a dip when the E. coli count is high, he or she could end up with swimmers itch. Lundt suggests that patrons check the signs before deciding to go out in the water; the tests take 24 to 48 hours to culture, and the students return and post the results once a week.

"Make sure you wash off right away," suggested Lundt if someone swims regardless of the warning.

This summer, students will also test for fecal coliform, a water health indicator used by the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation. When the ecology class is not in session, Lundt himself tests the lakes weekly through the summer. He said he hopes the city will take over the extra summer testing; many of his past students are capable of conducting the tests themselves.

"Maybe they can do an internship of some sort," Lundt said.