GOSHEN —
If you see him wearing waders, trust us — he’s not fishing, though he is hunting.
Goshen City Engineering Department intern Matt Wendler is hunting for something dangerous in the stormwater outfalls within the city through a two-year research project, he said.
“This summer, my primary goal is to investigate problem areas (in the stormwater system),” he said.
Wendler, a Middlebury native and senior at the University of Notre Dame, spent last summer and this summer trudging through creeks, kayaking through rivers, collecting water samples and running laboratory experiments to detect illicit drainage in outfalls, he said. This drainage can be anything from chemicals to bacteria.
“We’re testing for various levels of concentration (of illicit materials),” he said. “We have base lines we’re using. We’re testing problem areas twice a week to see how the levels fluctuate. We’re getting closer to some sources (for the contamination).”
Wendler said the drought this summer, though unfortunate for farmers and gardeners, helped speed his experiment along.
“This is a dry weather examination,” Wendler said. “We have to wait 72 hours after the most recent rainfall to do testing, because you don’t want anything diluted through the stream of water. We wait until there’s more than .01 inches of water to do the testing. We’re looking for illegal discharge.”
City Utilities Engineer Dustin Sailor said the project helps fulfill part of the Indiana state code which states that communities must have a program to stop these discharges in stormwater.
Sailor said the Engineering Department usually has an intern during the summer, and that the beginnings of this project were in 2005 and 2006, when the city began tracing the stormwater system with GPS, looking for all of the outfalls.
“By a rule, we screen all public outfalls that are 12 inches or larger in diameter,” Sailor said. “After 36 hours after a rain, if it’s still running, we test it, too.”
The stormwater system is a large series of underground pipes, and Sailor said some members of the community helped draw attention to problems by pointing out what they see to the department.
The project identifies stormwater outfalls with illicit chemicals or other presences in the water, including E. coli. Wendler said he has identified nine outfalls, with two outfalls in particular getting attention because of high concentrations of these presences, including high concentrations of E. coli.
These two outfalls — located off of College Avenue (but not coming from Goshen College) and at the ditch near North Carter Road — have shown higher concentrations of E. coli. With the dry weather helping his progress, Wendler has been able to trace back up the line of stormwater drains that leads to these outfalls, slowly coming closer and closer to a source of contamination somewhere up the line, he said.
These contaminations aren’t tiny, either. More than 2,400 E. coli colonies were present in a sample taken from what the Engineering Department calls Wellington Ditch, located near the Millrace bike path, according to an experiment Wendler demonstrated in the laboratory on Wilden Avenue.
According to Sailor, anything more than 235 colonies shouldn’t come into contact with humans.
Though this ditch isn’t used for swimming or any other recreational purposes, it needs to be tested, observed and fixed, according to Wendler.
“People aren’t getting into the water,” he said, “but the contamination is still hurting the environment, and it’s possibly killing life in the area.”
Once the problem areas are pinpointed, they will be treated and the project will continue with routine testing for all of the outfalls, according to Sailor. The state mandates will keep the Engineering Department working on maintaining and testing all of the outfalls for the city.
“It’s a never-ending project,” he said. “We will continue to test.”
Local News
Related Photos
-
The Goshen city engineering intern, Matt Wendler, shines a black light onto a sample of water collected. The blue color showing means the samples contain e. coli. SAM HOUSEHOLDER
Summer intern leads hunt for E. coli in Goshen
- Local News
-
-
Treatment plant building, lift station fixes approved
GOSHEN — The Wastewater Treatment Plant’s Digester and Lab buildings have water leaking in and the plant’s Twelfth Street lift station has bricks falling off the building due to water damage.
-
Crashes rekindle seat belt debate
An Indiana lawmaker who sponsored a bill that would have required seat belts on school buses hopes two high-profile collisions in a span of a week that left more than 60 people injured will spur parents to urge the General Assembly to act.
-
SLIDESHOW: 2013 Westview Graduation
Photos from the 47th Commencement Ceremony at Westview High School. The class of 2013 had 87 students.
-
THE DIRT ON GARDENING: Choose your pool plants wisely
Do you have a pool or a pond or do you plan on having one in the near future? Then you’ll want to choose your plants wisely that you’ll expect to have near or around the perimeter.
-
Handle poison hemlock carefully
Poison hemlock is a weed that seemed to burst onto the scene last year during the drought.
In the past, it could be found in waste areas like along railroad tracks and ditches, but in 2012, poison hemlock seemed to be everywhere, including backyards, gardens, fields, even along the river at Bonneyville Mill Park. -
'Piazza' program starts Saturday at Ruthmere
The “Coffee on the Piazza” program will return to Ruthmere Museum this spring and summer.
-
Jefferson students spend the day at Camp Amigo
On Tuesday, 450 Jefferson Elementary School students experienced “outdoor” school.
-
Bus driver’s condition upgraded after Wednesday wreck
A school bus driver injured in a four-bus crash Wednesday north of North Webster was hospitalized in fair condition Thursday.
-
Goshen has growth spurt
Goshen Mayor Allan Kauffman doesn’t have the magic bullet as to why Goshen is over the 32,000 mark in population for the first time.
-
Sentence dealt for reckless homicide
GOSHEN — From the witness stand in Elkhart Circuit Court, Kristina Wolfinger could see the man who killed her brother. She described what she didn’t see.
- More Local News Headlines
-
Mayor: Person Killed in San Antonio Flooding
Raw: Apple 1 Computer Sells for More Than $650k
Hagel Urges Cadets to End Scourge of Sex Assault
Raw: Gay Rights Activists March in Ukraine
Bus Fire Kills 16 Children, Teacher in Pakistan
Raw: Pakistan Election Results Protested
Raw: Trucker Bumps I-5 Bridge Before Collapse
Raw: Texas Deputy Shot by Colo. Suspect Honored
Major Detours Following Wash. Bridge Collapse
American Held in Grisly Czech Murders
Raw: Jersey Shore Reopens for Summer
UK-bound Pakistan Plane Diverted, 2 Men Arrested
Officials: Tsarnaev Friend Linked to Slaying
Obama:Sexual Assault Threatens Trust in Military
Bridge Collapse Survivor: 'Rough Day'
Jersey Shore Open for Business
Raw: Memorial Day Flags Placed at Arlington
New Wheelchair Lift Promises More Access
First Person: Mom Discusses Famous Tornado Photo
Raw Video: Washington State Bridge Collapse
