Who should Clean the  Lake?

Introduction:

The situation that is described in this activity, unfortunately, is a situation that is becoming far to common in the lakes in Iowa.  Many lakes in Iowa are becoming polluted due to the land use in the watershed of the lake.  People want the lakes to be clean again but no one is willing to change practices or pay for the remediation of the lakes. 

National Standards Addressed:

The standard of Populations, Resources and Environments under the concept of Science in Personal and Social Perspectives works in this lesson by showing students how a population can effect the environment and potentially help or harm natural resources. 

The standard of Natural Hazards under the concept of Science in Personal and Social Perspectives can work in this lesson by allowing students to see that a natural hazard such as flooding can be made into a bigger problem when humans do not take precautions to protect a natural resource.

The standard of Risks and Benefits under the concept of Science in Personal and Social Perspectives allows students to realize how their actions towards the environment can have a risk and a benefit not only for the environment but also for themselves.

The standard Science as a Human Endeavor under the concept of History and Nature of Sciences works by showing students how big of an impact that they can have on the environment.  This also shows the students that they can use science to help clean up situations like the one found in the lake.

The standard Abilities of Technological Design under the standard of Science and Technology gives students the chance to see how science and technology can be both the cause and the solution problems that go on in the environment around them.

Inquiry and Constructivism is a teaching standard that allows the students to make their own inferences about the situation.  It allows for the students to build on their ideas and think in a more questioning and scientific way about causes and solutions to problems.

Objectives and Benchmarks:

The students will be able to persuasively argue why or why not the lake needs to be remediated.  The students will also be able to give educated reasons on why the lake should be remediated and where the money for the project will come from.  A plan on how to remediate the lake is the ultimate goal of this lesson.

Materials:

Handout over the parts in the role-play          

Reference material for students to look up information about their parts

Advanced Preparation:

The character profiles in the role-play should be cut up and distributed to the class.  The class should do research on their parts so that they can provide factual information during the role-play.

Procedure:

This activity should take two or three days to complete.  The parts of the role-play should be given out one or two days in advance of the activity so students will have time to research their roles.  The first day the teacher acts as a chairman of the city counsel to get the meeting started, at the start of the meeting take a few minutes to read the history of the lake, and the lake characteristics to the students.  Raise the question .what should we do about the lake. and have the students begin defending their situations.  The second day allow for any students to voice some last opinions.  Take a vote in the class to decide if the lake should be cleaned up or not.  Then, have the students decide on ways to clean up the lake, and ways to keep the lake from going back to being hypereutrophic.  This can be done as a class or as an individual paper.

City Counsel Meeting: Who Should Clean Up The Lake

            Between 40% and 60% of the surface water in Iowa is designated as impaired.  This includes lakes, streams, rivers, and wetlands.  Iowa Lake in north central Iowa is no exception.  Iowa Lake is a victim of nutrient loading.  This is causing the lake to become hypereutrophic.  The lake is no longer fit for swimming, fishing, and other recreational activities.  The reasons behind the demise of this lake are caused by human impacts.  Run-off from the fields and pastures next to the lake are adding nutrients, along with animals that walk into the lake to cool off during the hot summer months.  Other sources of excess nutrients into the lake are the fertilization of yards and nearby sports complexes, a golf course, and factories.  When the lake floods in the spring it overflows into the waste treatment center that is on the banks of the lake.  This is also a problem.  There are people in the town that are becoming outraged about the condition of the lake.  A city counsel meeting was held to discuss what to do about Iowa Lake.  Many important members of the community and surrounding facilities showed up to voice their opinions about what should be done about the lake.  Both sides of the argument were represented, people for the clean up of the lake, people against the clean up of the lake all attend the meeting.

   Lake Iowa                                                                Land Use in Water Shed

Location . North Central Iowa                                    Area . 10, 081 Acres

Area . 2,632 Acres                                                     Crop Land . 57%

Maximum Depth . 6.9 Meters                                        Pastures . 28%

Mean Depth . 3.5 Meters                                               Town/Factories . 8%

Origin . Natural                                                               Other . 4%

                                                                                      Forest . 3%

Lake Iowa is one of the few natural lakes in the state.  Starting back as early as the 1950.s reports of large algal blooms and a foul smell were reported around the lake.  At this time the lake was still a huge tourist attraction, bringing in people for camping, fishing, and leisure boating.  Around this time the town around the lake began to expand and modernize.  The farming community began to apply larger amounts of fertilizers to grow better crops, and more cattle and hogs were being raised in the watershed area of the lake.  New sports complexes and golf courses were also beginning to appear in the watershed region of the lake.  The towns people did not pay much notice that Lake Iowa was becoming more polluted as time went by.  Now the year is 2001.  The lake is useless for fishing, camping, and any type of leisurely outings.  Most of the town is outraged but no one wants to take the blame for the pollution of the lake, and no one wants to spend their money to clean it up. 

People at The City Counsel Meeting

(These roles can be printed out and cut up for distribution to students)

Farmers

   In general the farmers do not feel that they are part of the problem.  They are only trying to make a living and have been doing so for a long time.  Most of the farmers are second and third generation farmers that do not know another way of farming.

           Crop Farmer  corn and soybeans.  Fertilizers and pesticides are draining into the lake.  The rows are planted so that when it rains the run off heads directly into the lake.  The farmer is a third generation farmer and is not eager to change his farming practices.  The farmer uses both organic and inorganic fertilizers on the fields.  The hog and cattle farmers depend on him for the disposal of their manure.

            Cattle Farmer  The pasture runs right up to the water and the cattle are free to walk into the lake.  When it rains the waste from the cattle run directly into the lake.  The cattle eat the grass, this aids in the erosion of the soil, which also adds to the run off.  This adds more sediment into the lake.

            Hog Farmer  Like the cattle the hogs are free to walk around in the lake.  The farmer usually keeps the hogs in a different area of the farm so he does not feel that the hogs are adding to the lake problem.  He feels that people are just trying to get rid of his hog farm because of the smell.  He does not believe that he is causing any kind of environmental hazard.

            Ostrich Farmer  The ostrich farmer is a new age farmer.  The family that runs the ostrich ranch does not understand how his farm might be harming the environment.  The ostriches eat even the roots of the grass, which leaves the ground completely bare.  This allows for even greater runoff from their land.  They are old hippies that want the environment to be clean and are willing to work with the town in order to clean up their farm and make the lake a cleaner place to be.

            Farmer Up The Way  This farmer is lives about six miles up the stream that is a tributary into the lake.  The fields run off into the stream that carries the water into the lake.  The farmer does not feel that the run off from the fields are causing a problem in the lake because the nutrients would have dissipated out of the water before reaching the lake.  The farmer does not feel that the lake is a major concern.

Towns People

            Wealthy Resident (Role can be duplicated for several students)    Fat Cat Acres, a new subdivision has just been opened up with houses that have lake front property.  The residents of Fat Cat Acres are complaining about the color, smell, and appearance of the lake.  They are complaining that the lake is bringing down the property value of their homes.  They are blaming the problem on everybody but themselves.  They do not realize that the run off of the fertilizers that they are using to make their lush, green beautiful yards is a key contributor to the eutrophication of the lake.  To make matters worse, they are using four times as much fertilizer as needed because they think that this will make their yards look even better.

            Old Timers  These old people want the lake clean.  They sit around at the town meetings and tell fish stories.  They always talk about how the big fish were that they used to pull out of Iowa Lake.  Now they cannot fish in the lake at all unless they want little bullheads.

            Mayor  The mayor is listening at the town meeting.  The mayor is up for re-election this year and wants to try and please everyone.  The mayor does not want to pay for the clean up for the lake but wants people to know that he is concerned with the town and what they have to say.  He is agreeing with both sides because he is more concerned about being re-elected than about the environment.

            Real Estate Agent  This person wants the lake clean.  Business has been suffering because no one will buy property next to a lake that looks and smells the way that Iowa Lake does.  The quote that is repeated over and over is .who would pay good money to live next to a cesspool..  This has made problems with the manager of the waste treatment center that is also located next to the lake.

            Local Resident  These are towns. people that do not live near the lake and are not directly affected by the lake.  They do not feel that the lake is their problem and many could care less if the lake is fixed or not.  They realize that their sewers do back up on occasion and this runs into the lake.  They do not feel like this problem happens enough to help pay for a new sewer system.  They think that the rich people that have taken over the lake front property should fix the problem.

           Native Americans  The Native Americans that live around the town and in the area want the lake cleaned up.  They say that the lake plays a role in the tradition of their culture and the lake has an importance in their ceremonies and cultural beliefs.

School Related People

            Concerned Students  There is a group of students that are real environmentalists.  After performing water tests on Lake Iowa and discovering the poor condition of the water quality, they are going to extremes to show people the damage that they have caused to the lake.  They want the lake to be cleaned immediately.  They want the community to be able to run, swim, and play in the lake.  They are starting to talk about having a student's rally to get their point across. 

            Unconcerned Students  This is a group of students whose parents were old hippies and they have taken to that lifestyle.  They are laid back non-conformists that believe in the chaos theory.  They believe that if left alone nature will heal itself.  The lake will fix itself if just given time.  They are not looked seriously upon by either side of the argument to fix or leave the lake alone.

            School Board  The school board wants to clean the lake because the school is next to the lake.  The school board does not feel that the fertilizers they put on their playing fields are affecting the lake in any way.  Even though there is proof that the run off from the fields is a point source of nutrients feeding into the lake.  On the other hand some members of the school board do not want to fix the lake because they want the money that it would take to go towards the school for repairs, replacements, and additions.

            High School Science Teacher  Although the teacher likes having muck on the lake to be able to run experiments on Cyanobacteria the teacher wants the lake to be clean so that the class can have field trips to the lake.  The lake is bad enough that other wild life no longer lives in or near the lake and the teacher feels that the students are missing out on an important part of science by not being able to view wildlife in its natural habitat.

Town Workers

            Grounds Keeper at Sports Complex  The sports complex consists of soccer, football, softball, and baseball fields.  They are all located next to Iowa Lake.  The groundskeeper fertilizes the grass constantly.  The groundskeeper is neutral on the lake argument.  The lake does not affect the job that is done.  If what is being done is affecting the lake the response that is given is:  "Don't get mad at me, I'm just doing my job..."

            Golf Course Superintendent  The golf course has holes that are adjacent to parts of the lake.  The golf course is fertilized heavily and treated with insecticides to keep the course green and lush all summer long.  The superintendent is very proud of how the golf course looks and is not willing to change anything that is done to make the course that way.  There is proof that the fertilizer used for the golf course is adding to the pollution of the lake and still the superintendent refuses to change.

            Waste Water Treatment Center  When the lake floods it backs up into the sewer treatment center and causes it to overflow into the lake.  This puts human waste directly into the lake.  The manager does not see the problem with this.  The manager explains the water will eventually end up in the lake anyway so why does it matter if it goes in a little bit early.  The manager is only happy that the bad smell is being blamed on the lake and not the waste treatment facility.  If the town had more money they could update the treatment center.

            Factory Owners  The factory owners refuse to pay for any changes that need to be made so that they pollute the lake any less.  They claim that the lake was already bad when they built their factories so why should they pay to help fix them.  They believe that they are in no way responsible for the current condition of the lake.  There are point sources that come from their plants and drain directly into the lake. 

            Marina Owner  The owner of the local marina is in quite a fix.  People are no longer using the lake for any type of boating activities.  He is slowly losing his business.  He wants the lake to be cleaned immediately so he does not lose his job and his source of income.  His livelihood is at stake.

            Restaurant on the Lake  There is such a strong smell coming off the lake that the towns people have stopped going to the restaurant even though the food is some of the best in the area.  The specialty at the restaurant, at one time, was catfish that had been caught in the lake.  This has not been for some time now because catfish are now almost completely gone from the lake and people refuse to eat what ever comes out of the lake anyway.  Like the marina owner, the owner of the restaurant is in danger of losing his business.

            Bait Shop Owner   The bait shop owner is irate over the condition of the lake.  His bait shop has been closed for over a year now because of the decline in fishing on the lake.  The only people that fish the lake are young kids that just fling the bullheads they catch up on the shore.  He feels the lake needs to be fixed immediately and that the town should help him to get his business started again.

Government and Environmental Agencies

            Sierra Club  This organization is outraged at the current condition of the lake and does not understand how a community can let such a wonderful natural resource become so polluted.  They want to come in and educate the community on the problem and help to raise money to clean up the lake and surrounding natural areas.

            DNR    The DNR, which is run through a government agency, is concerned about the condition of the lake.  They want to clean up the lake but do not know where they will get the funds or the man- power to do so.

            The Audubon Society   The society is worried because there are lower and lower animal numbers every year.  There are fewer and fewer nesting birds in the area, and birds that live on a diet consisting of fish are basically gone.  The society has also noticed that there has been a change in species that are living at the lake.  The amount of mosquito eating birds has been consistently rising every year.