Nitrate Watch: Sampling Agricultural Surface Water Across Indiana

Project Summary

1 Purdue University student sampled nitrate levels in agricultural surface water across multiple sites in Indiana, contributing to the Izaak Walton League of America’s effort to monitor water quality in less-regulated areas of the country.

Detailed Story

Riley Abernathy, a student at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, took her Nitrate Watch project into the field across Indiana, focusing specifically on agricultural surface water. In partnership with the Izaak Walton League of America, the project aims to fill data gaps in nitrate monitoring by tracking water quality in areas that receive less regulatory oversight. The map she submitted shows sampling sites spread across central Indiana, from the Lafayette area south toward Indianapolis and beyond. For Riley, the fieldwork sharpened her eye for the environmental factors at play in water quality. As she reflected, “I became very aware of factors like slope and vegetation that could increase or decrease the nitrate level in an area.” The project deepened her understanding of surface water contamination and the connections between agricultural land use and water health.

Impact Statement

1 college student contributed nitrate readings from agricultural surface water sites across Indiana to a national water quality monitoring network, building her own awareness of how landscape features like slope and vegetation shape contamination risk in farming communities.