Because of runoff, water quality at Ada Hayden Heritage Park has been subpar, a university professor said.

The park, located in north Ames, is not only used for recreation, but also as a secondary water source for the city and surrounding areas during times of drought. John Downing, professor of ecology, evolution and organismal biology, leads the Biology 486 aquatic ecology class in testing the water quality of the park’s lakes, which are not tested regularly.

Downing and William Simpkins, professor of geological and atmospheric sciences, proposed to the City Council having the students test the water. The Council agreed, and provided funding.

“A lot of the project was put together in order to improve water quality,” Downing said. “Because of runoff, the water quality hasn’t been as good as it could be.”

The ecology class tests the water by going out in canoes and measuring the temperature profile and nutrient content.

Students also use global positioning receivers and sonar to measure water depth and create maps of the two lakes from the data.

Simpkins said the City of Ames has used water from the lakes on four occasions since 1977 and almost had to do so in 2000.

“There’s no other place in central Iowa where you could pump that amount of water,” he said. “The city needs that water in case we go into a drought.”

Simpkins is conducting a three-year study on the entire city’s water supply, including the quality of groundwater feeding into the lakes.

“There has been no comprehensive study of the water coming into the lake over the last 30 years,” he said.

Students conducted preliminary testing last week and took water samples from three sites at the park, finding chloride to be at an elevated level. Simpkins said this could be because of the use of road salt and agricultural practices, neither of which are good for aquatic life.

“Some of these problems we can fix and some of them we may not be able to,” Simpkins said. Simpkins’s study will be broken into two main phases. The first phase is under way with groundwater testing at the park.

The second phase involves a computer model to help the city refine pumping and locate new water wells in anticipation of future demand. Simpkins said almost 9.5 million gallons of water were used by the city on July 11.

“That was even before the students came back,” he said. “We need to have a good handle on our water systems here.”

The City of Ames has provided funding for the projects totaling nearly $175,000, with more than $90,000 still needed.

“It’s an exciting project when the students and the city can work together,” Downing said.