Saint Peter High School

Ninth-grade science students in Mr. Borslien’s class at Saint Peter High School paid a visit to the Highway 99 bridge walking path on Tuesday to take part in their annual Minnesota River water testing unit.

The activity took place with the help of the Friends of the Minnesota River, who run the Riverwatch program. Patti Braulick from the Riverwatch program, which is funded through the MPCA (MN Pollution Control Agency).

Students worked with Patti Braulick and Mr. Borslien to collect water samples from the Highway 99 bridge walkway and tested for dissolved oxygen, nitrates, pH, temperature, turbidity (cloudiness), conductivity, and the height of the river.  They also described the river bed and water quality in more general terms for usability, water color and bank descriptions. 

According to the Borslien, the data will eventually be added to MPCA's database monitoring river health in Minnesota.  It provides students with a chance to do a little field work and see some science data collection in action.   

Above and below are some photo highlights from the students’ work at the Minnesota River.