Water Quality Surveys
How WREC Surveys Work
WREC’s water quality surveys focus on monitoring to show a change in water quality. Sample sites are located on the Wabash River up and downstream of Greater Lafayette and on three tributaries – Little Pine Creek (control), Little Wea Creek (agricultural) and Elliot Ditch (urban). Sample sites are paired in an effort to identify changes in water quality.
See the results for these surveys below. Some of the parameters that were tested were temperature, pH, turbidity, conductivity, nitrate-nitrogen, phosphorous, suspended solids and E.coli. Graphs display the levels of these parameters over an extended period of time and explain how these different parameters impact water quality and the environment.
WREC also conducts biological and volunteer monitoring. Learn more about the water quality surveys program at Water Quality Monitoring.
Public Opinion Surveys
A total of seven surveys of Tippecanoe County residents have been completed as part of Wabash River Enhancement Corporation and Purdue University Natural Resources Social Science Lab efforts. These surveys each have their own focus and goals and are described in more details below. WREC and our partners completed seven public opinion surveys since 2006. Surveys target a variety of landowners throughout Tippecanoe County and the Greater Lafayette Region. The first survey occurred in 2006 and targeted random landowners throughout Tippecanoe County. In 2009, two surveys occurred – one targeting agricultural landowners only and one targeting Lafayette/West Lafayette residents. Two surveys conducted in 2010 targeted the same general populations but focused specifically on water quality issues aimed at increasing adoptions of practices to improve water quality. In 2014, another survey was conducted. The target of this survey was to compare responses of urban residents that did and did not have a rain barrel. In 2016, an almost identical survey focusing on water quality was sent out to urban residents in 2016 to monitor any changes in public opinions.