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Measuring Water Quality at Chichaqua Bottoms

This video shows water throughout Chichaqua Bottoms Greenbelt and discusses the quality of the Greenbelt’s water compared to other places in the state.

Location
Chichaqua Bottoms Greenbelt - Maxwell, IA

Driving Question

  • How can we measure and improve water quality?

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Probing Questions

  • Why is Chichaqua’s water quality higher than the water quality of some other places?
  • How can water be “clean” even though it sometimes looks dirty?

Classroom Suggestions

Students could:

  • Video conference with or meet a water quality engineer to find out how water quality is tested and what it means for water to be of “good” quality.
  • Test and analyze water from different sources in their area.
  • Research how wetlands improve water quality.
  • Compare and contrast the water filtration that occurs in wetlands to how water treatment plants and small-scale filtration solutions (personal water filtration devices, solar distillation, etc.) work.
  • Define a particular problem of water quality in their community or the world, including criteria and constraints.
  • Choose between different solutions for that problem and justify their decision.

Resources

Iowa Core Alignment

MS-ESS3-3:

Apply scientific principles to design a method for monitoring and minimizing a human impact on the environment

Credit Info

Media produced by Iowa PBS.

Submitted by Dan Voss and Madison Beeler as part of their Iowa STEM Teacher Externship experience at Iowa PBS.

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