Water Quality Education and Awareness

In late 2012 VEPA was donated a water quality educational pack from Melbourne Water Corporation and Baulderstone Pty Ltd.  The pack is designed to teach students about different water quality parameters, including dissolved oxygen, turbidity, pH, temperature, nitrates and phosphates.

Since receiving the equipment we have had fun teaching students about water quality, including how to monitor various parameters and what impacts human activities can have on water quality.   The equipment has also been used to assist the ministry of Environment and Climate change to measure water quality at the rehabilitated rubbish dump.

USP Student (Josh) measuring dissolved oxygen

For the first Nature Explorers Club students from the University of South Pacific measured the temperature, pH, Dissolved Oxygen and Electro Conductivity in the Port of Refuge.   I also did a presentation to the Form 5 biology students at Mailefihi Siuiliku College and afterwards we measured the DO concentration from a water with algae.  Not a scientifically sound measurement, but it taught the students about DO and what role it plays in keeping a healthy ecosystem.   It was also a good example of how algae can reduce the DO concentration. 

Presentation to Form 6 Biology students at MSC

In my previous job I used to do water quality monitoring by just sticking a couple of probes in the water.  Technology has made water quality monitoring very accurate and extremely simple.   Unlike the advanced equipment I am used to the equipment donated uses a modified Winkler method, chemical reactions to calculate the dissolved oxygen concentration.  This is not as accurate as a probe but much more exciting!  The students were mesmerized when the water turned purple (manganese oxide hydroxide oxidizing the iodide to iodine) and then clear again by adding the titration (thiosulfate) to reduce the iodine back to iodide ions. 

Thank you to the Water Resource Alliance for donating the equipment. 

We are hoping to do more presentations in the other high schools over the next two weeks and continue to do the dissolved oxygen exercise to teach the students about the important relationship between oxygen levels and maintaining a healthy aquatic ecosystem.     

Elana Balderstone

VEPA Volunteer (Aus Aid)