March Legislative Round-Up

The current session of the Illinois General Assembly has included several major pieces of legislation addressing water resources in Illinois. We’ve briefly summarized a few of those bills here as a general Water Wednesday update. This is by no means an exhaustive list of all that’s proposed; for a complete update on what’s going on in Springfield, check out the Legislation and Laws portion of the Illinois General Assembly webpage.

Crumbling Pipes and Failed Hydrants: Water Infrastructure

Last month businesses in Carterville, IL suffered extensive fire damage when a water hydrant failed in the midst of firefighting efforts. City water managers explained that the system was old and no longer functioning well. Aging infrastructure is a problem we think about a lot here at IWRC, partly because our news feeds have been filled with stories of water main failures in Illinois, like here, here, and here, to name only a few.   

It turns out that everyone else is thinking about crumbling infrastructure, too. Not only did members of the water industry testify before Congress, just last week, but their suggestions on how to address urgent water structure needs were also recently echoed by a new Government Accountability Office report.

To top things off, the American Society of Civil Engineers issued their 2013 Infrastructure report card yesterday, assigning a D+ as the overall grade for American structures. This is a marginal improvement from the last reports, issued in 2009, when the overall score was a D-. 2013 grades for water-related infrastructure were all low, with Dams receiving a D, a grade shared by Drinking Water and Wastewater. Levees received a D-, as did Inland Waterways. Bridges were a brighter spot on the card, earning a C+.   

In Illinois specifically, infrastructure received a grade of D+, while necessary upgrades to drinking water over the next twenty years were estimated to require $15 billon. Wastewater needs were estimated at $17.5 billion. This is an increase from the 2009 report, where these numbers were estimated at  $13.5 billion and $13.41 billion, respectively. Likewise, high hazard dams in the state (those which could potentially cause human harm and property loss if they failed) rose from 187 to 201.   

In the midst of this doom and gloom, however, Illinois is making some progress. This past fall Gov. Quinn established the Clean Water Initiative, which makes $1 billion in water project funding available to Illinois communities through low interest loans. It is funded through the equity of existing State Revolving Fund loans, Federal grants, and Federal stimulus funds. Thus far, projects in Perkin, IL and Chicago have received loans to address both drinking water and wastewater. Villages like Kenilworth, however, are pursuing another avenue of funding and have asked residents to vote on a referendum that would raise property taxes to address aging infrastructure causing flooding basements and insufficient water flow at fire hydrants. 

Going Fishing or Going to Work? The Life of a Fisheries Biologist

To kick off our series on water careers, we got to enjoy a conversation with Josh Sherwood, who works for the Illinois State Natural History Survey as a Fisheries Research Scientist. Josh grew up in Illinois, attended Hartsburg-Emden High School, studied at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and finished up with a masters of science from Western Illinois University. He graciously answered all our questions and was even nice enough to say he had fun doing so! Thanks to Josh for being a good sport, and we hope you enjoy his insights into the world of aquatic biology.  

Your official title is Fisheries Research Scientist. Can you explain what that means in your day-to-day responsibilities?

Basically, I analyze data gathered on the fish in Illinois (either my own or gathered by other organizations) to try and find any factors that may affect fish populations. During the summer, I lead a crew that goes out and samples the fish found in streams.

Currently we are working in Champaign County, but I have been lucky enough to sample many streams, rivers and lakes throughout the state in my short career. In addition to fish, I have also done projects on freshwater mussels (or clams) as well as other invertebrates (bugs). The winter is not nearly as exciting. During the winter I will enter data gathered from the previous summer, analyze the data and write reports or papers describing what I have found.

Josh's technicians seining for fish

How would your grandmother describe your job?

Haha, she would probably say that I get paid to go fishing!

How did you become interested in fish, and why research? Any pivotal moments in your past that led you down the aquatic sciences track? 

I grew up fishing a lot with my family and always loved being outside, on the local lake or creek. I did well in high school and actually decided to study engineering in college. I didn’t really enjoy my first year studying engineering, mainly because it required too much deskwork and I wanted to be outside. One of my friends was studying fish and wildlife conservation here at the U of I, I didn’t even know this was a major option! I switched over the next semester and begun enjoying going to class. I was lucky enough to work for a couple of scientists here at the INHS as a technician and from that I knew that this was something I would love to do for the rest of my life, helping keep fish around for future generations to enjoy.

Anything you wish you’d done in college or grad school, like a research experience, class, or adventure, that you missed out on? Or, what kind of advice would you offer current students looking to get into your field?

As an undergrad I was offered a position in the Bahamas to assist with research being done there, but I turned it down so that I wouldn’t miss a semester and delay my graduation. Still kicking myself for that decision!

For those wanting to get into the field, experience is the key. I got started by volunteering in a lab and gaining experience. This lead to a paid position and the experience I gained through both has guided me down the path I wanted. That being said, if you get the chance to do this, don’t just go through the motions. Ask questions. Learn as much as you can. You are helping someone who is passionate about what they do and most are excited about spreading that passion to others.

What parts of your educational experiences have been most useful in transitioning from school to a job?

Classes will give you the base knowledge and the ones that interest you the most can steer you towards what job you want. Getting out there and experiencing what I thought I wanted to do was the most useful for me in transitioning from school to my job. Even if you are not able to get a job in the field, helping professionals and learning as much as you can will help you tremendously.

How do you see the future of your field? Will there be lots more or fewer fisheries scientists in twenty years?

That depends on how we address the challenges we are facing today. Many people in the world rely on fish as a major part of their diets. The more people there are in the world, the more fish and other aquatic/marine species will be harvested to feed them. We will need more scientists who are willing to tackle this large job so we can keep feeding people without destroying fish populations.

How many cups of coffee are required to get you through a busy workday?

Hahaha, well I am a bit of a coffee-holic. I drink coffee regardless of my schedule. But as you can imagine, those winter days in front of my computer require more coffee than those summer days in the field.

I visited some 5^th grade students a few weeks ago, and their number one question about my fieldwork experience was if I was ever scared. So, are you ever scared doing fieldwork, and, if so, why or why not?

Well, I don’t really care for snakes and on occasion we run across them in the streams. I wouldn’t call it being scared, but I am definitely uncomfortable. Also, there are days when we are working on the bigger rivers (Illinois, Mississippi or Wabash), when I am scared of catching a large Asian Carp with my face.

And again for the 5^th graders, what are some adventures that science has allowed you to enjoy?

I have been lucky enough to be able to explore the streams all across Illinois and it is amazing what you may find in streams, and I am not talking about fish. I enjoy finding, and am amazed at what some people throw into streams. We have found things like tricycles, furniture, computers, microwaves, and, from a stream near Chicago, even a gun.

What do you wish more people knew or understood about Illinois fish?

A Bluebreast Darter--Josh's favorite fish

I wish people realized how diverse the fish in Illinois are. Most people only know about those species that you can catch with a rod and reel. But there is so much more in your local stream than you realize—species that are extremely colorful and with unique adaptations that you would not expect.

Water Careers

In the coming weeks, we are launching a short series highlighting various water careers in Illinois. While this series is part of our mission to aid the entry of young professionals and students into the water sciences, we also felt that this could provide some follow-up to our school visits and allow us to help contextualize various water issues in Illinois. For example, if you read in the news that the water quality in Metro-East results in fish that are unsafe for human consumption wouldn’t you like to know about the type of people who discover that information? Likewise, if you are 10 and get a classroom visit from a scientist who studies water bugs, but you are terrified of water bugs, wouldn’t you also like to know what other career alternatives are out there?

Thus, in no particular order, we intend to examine the world of fish biologists, sanitation engineers, professors, and anyone else who will sit down and chat with us. If you think you have a snazzy water career and would like to be profiled (first on the blog, eventually in the collections on our website), please shoot me an email at cmlay@illinois.edu.    

School Visits

This past Friday, I crawled out of my academic ivory tower, dusted off my social skills, and paid a visit to the 5^th and 6^th grade science classes as Cesar E. Chavez Multicultural Academic Center in Chicago to chat about being a scientist. I was treated like a celebrity. I can’t wait to go back!

I should probably mention that my sister teaches at Chavez, and I was such an object of wonder because the students adore my sister. Still, it was a great ego boost, considering that I had brought trash as my object lesson. We used the trash to talk about how long it would take different items to decay and where the trash would end up if it were washed into Chicago’s stormwater system. Regardless, what kind of mean visitor brings in old (clean) milk jugs and gives them to kids?

Well folks, I’m a scientist, and I did. But mostly I told the students about being a scientist. I shared pictures with them and told them about the fieldwork in 8-degree weather in the middle-of-nowhere that earned me my MS. They wanted to know if I was ever scared, and, also, did the water bugs bite my hands? And furthermore, why did my sister have yellow hair and I had brown? Try explaining genetics to an audience that hasn’t studied Punnett Squares, yet. Actually, I dare you, do try it.

While I taught a lesson, the science teachers didn’t need my help to do their jobs—what they really wanted was to introduce these students to a real, live scientist. I was there to tell these students about all the options and adventures a career in science had given me and to suggest that science could open doors for them, too.

We like to joke that scientists and engineers don’t have good social skills, and that’s why we’re terrible at outreach. But visiting this school didn’t take a lot of skill. It took a smile, one pretty lame story, and a desire to answer questions on my part, and the kids did the rest. What do you think: do you like this model of outreach, or would you rather participate in a more formal setting, like a science expo?