Iowa is home to many lakeside beaches created to provide recreational opportunities for residents and visitors. Sand deposited at the water’s edge for public access was found to behave differently than the rest of the lake environment, harboring potentially harmful bacteria concentrations during the summer months when beach going is most popular. In this episode, listen to how watershed improvement professionals from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, including host Jeff Berckes, adjusted their monitoring approach and found creative ways to diagnose and improve water quality at beaches across the state.

About our guest:

Jason Palmer is a Natural Resource Biologist with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, Water Quality Improvements Section.