Those lazy days of summer: August 2006 Archives

This summer, I took up bike riding. My favorite route runs on the levee along the Kansas River in North Lawrence. Bike riding on this particular path inspired me to reflect more closely on my water story assignment.

On one side of the levee the river twists and turns steered left and right by the walls of the levee, all neatly contained and managed. On the other side, a trailer park, the railroad tracks and crops of corn bravely butt up against the slope of the levee. Every few hundred feet I pass a USGS marker that measures the height of the water. It's very peaceful and really quite beautiful. It was during one of my weekly rides that I suddenly realized, water is all around me, I've just never really noticed it before.

Eight weeks ago, if you would've asked me to define a watershed, or explain where my water comes from, I wouldn't have been able to. Thanks to our assignment, all the guest speakers, web sites and reports, I now have a better understanding of how important water is to our society.

My story originally began as a quest for data. I was tasked with comparing how Clinton Lake stacks up to other reservoirs in Kansas. Easier said than done. In fact, many of the scientists, environmentalists and engineers I called to ask for numbers laughed in my face. It wasn't a mean or snarky laugh, it was usually a chuckle, followed by a sigh and something along the lines of, "Well, you might try contacting so-and-so at the XYZ office. I think they collect that kind of data." So-and-so usually didn't provide me with very useful data. In the end, I discovered that the real story lies in the perception of what constitutes important and relevant data when it comes to water resources in Kansas. The Environmental Protection Agency, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks, the Kansas Water Office, the USGS, Kansas Geological Survey and Kansas Biological Survey all measure different aspects of the water. For people who live in eastern Kansas, the relevant data is all about water quality, does it taste or smell bad? For people out in western Kansas, its all about water quantity, is there enough water to go around?

Over the Fourth of July weekend, I traveled to north central Kansas to visit friends in Mankato, which just so happens to be near Lovewell Lake, a Bureau of Reclamation reservoir.

The drive to Lovewell Lake from Mankato is an easy 15 minutes on a relatively smooth Kansas Highway 14, through the hills, past the rows of corn, milo and soybeans and across the Republic River. I was eager to document how much this small community loved their lake.

The state park manager agreed to meet with me however, everything was to be off the record. I obliged, figuring I would still get information from him. Boy, did I. In a community where a trip to Walmart constitutes a day-long affair, and the park manager labels the quest for toilet paper a "recreational experience," you would think a lake like Lovewell would be a welcome source of entertainment and recreation.

The park manager told me otherwise. His tale was a classic conflict between the farmers who had owned land around the site of Lovewell Lake and the hunters, fishermen and outdoorsmen who travel for miles to use the lake's facilities. The lake was built in 1958, but apparently most of the businesses and farmers around Mankato still despise it.

In this sense, Clinton Lake is a stark contrast. The overall consensus of most local citizens and some of our expert sources, is that Clinton Lake and the dam are a good thing for our community. It has prevented flooding, it provides recreational activities that help boost the local economy, and it supplies drinking water for Lawrence residents. Without Clinton Lake, Lawrence would probably not have grown like it has.

In eastern Kansas we might think we are too busy to worry about big issues like water management. It often isn't until we have a real problem with our water quality that we suddenly "see" water.

Now that all is said and done with the class, I'm happy to report that I have learned a lot, and I think everyone's stories turned out great. The interactive charts and graphs should be posted along with the stories sometime around Labor Day on LJWorld.com.