COVINGTON – On the banks of the Ohio River on Wednesday, two area colleges accepted large checks that will help them study the area's waterways and improve water quality.
The money Duke Energy gave to the University of Cincinnati and Thomas More – $250,000 each – will also help expand recruitment efforts among local high schools for biology and engineering students as well as provide additional science training for teachers.
In the fall, Duke Energy Foundation chairman Richard "Stick" Williams visted some of the outdoor laboratories at UC and Thomas More and was impressed, particularly with the training some local teachers received. That visit helped lead to Duke Energy's $500,000 gift.
"Teachers that were coming and experiencing great science and then going back with all kinds of examples and all kinds of excitement and going back to their students and letting them know what's possible, " Williams said. "Their lessons plans changed dramatically as a result of their experiences with UC and Thomas More."
The two schools' research on the Great Miami and Ohio rivers have shown significant improvement in water quality since the passage of the Clean Water Act in 1972.
In the late 1960s – when Thomas More moved its biology field station into an old lock and dam site built 90 years ago on the Ohio River in southern Campbell County – the polluted river only supported the most hardy type of fish, said Chris Lorentz, professor of biology and director of the biology field station. Carp and catfish that are both tolerant of pollution were the only species thriving in the river 40 years ago. Now a diverse range of fish, including the occassional pirhana, can be found in the river, Lorentz said.
"We've been collecting fish since 1971, that's 40 plus years," Lorentz said. "It's only 40-plus year studies that you can document trends. We've documented long-term health of the river improving. We've documented new species that have come in."
Thomas More will use the grant to expand the number of summer internships at the biology field station and expand collaborations with local high schools. The program targets minorities, lower income and other underserved populations, Lorentz said. The field station hosts workshops, field trips, student camps and other programs.
UC will use its $250,000 portion of the grant to beef up the monitoring of the aquifer under the Great Miami River, which stretches from Indian Lake near Lima, Ohio to the Ohio River. The Great Miami River Groundwater Aquifer provides the sole source of drinking water for 2.3 million people.
UC will study how floodwaters from the Great Miami River system fill the aquifer and help better detect contamination from pathogens like cryptosporidium.
The grant will also establish a summer environmental research training program for teachers from inner city schools in Cincinnati. They can take these experiences back to the classroom, said David Lentz, executive director and professor of biological sciences at UC. The program will also provide money for buses so the teachers can bring students out to the field station.
"A lot of these kids in the inner city schools, never been out in the woods," Lentz said."It's very intimidating. Never been in a free flowing stream with crayfish and other kinds of macroinvertebrates. It opens their minds and it's a memorable experience for them."