New sign at Logan River teaches about water quality

LOGAN – A new sign that teaches the importance of monitoring the water quality of Utah’s rivers and lakes was recently placed in front of the Stokes Nature Center near the Logan River. The sign was funded by iUtah, a research project that works to preserve Utah’s water resources.

The sign is divided into two parts. The bottom includes a graphic explaining the importance of the river and monitoring water quality. The top is a graph that will track the water quality from month to month by monitoring water temperature, dissolved solids and dissolved oxygen.

The sign was erected by Utah Water Watch, a statewide volunteer water monitoring program by USU Extension. The program’s coordinator Brian Greene said that it is important to monitor the water because of the plants, animals and bugs that live in and around it. If water becomes too salty, it will be unable to produce crops when it reaches farms. If it becomes too warm, it could become uninhabitable for fish.

Greene said he hopes those who pass by will see the sign and learn from it.

“Why not harness these places where we have these great recreational opportunities like the Logan River trail and the Stokes Nature Center and put a sign out there that tells people about the watershed that they’re in and why water quality is important,” he said.

The Utah Water Watch volunteers will be the ones collecting the data and updating the sign.

“It’s a way to actually engage the public, students and teachers, in what we call participatory science,” Greene said. “You’re participating in the scientific process. You collect data. Your using equipment to go out and monitor a stream or a lake and then you record that data back online and we share that with watershed scientists, with local watershed coordinators and people across the state.”

The sign was unveiled Saturday along with a presentation demonstrating how to collect water quality data.

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