Roar magazine Vol 7 / Testing the waters

Testing the waters in western Kansas By: Boyce Durr

Water Research at Fort Hays State University Water. In its purest form, water is transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless.

Consisting of a simple chemical compound with just three atoms, two hydrogen and one oxygen, water covers over seventy percent of the earth's surface. However, access to this life-sustaining resource presents major challenges in water-starved locations all over the world, including right here in Kansas.

While some states in the western U.S. have seen relief, Kansas is still experiencing the worst drought in a decade. Ask any farmer or rancher in western Kansas how essential water is to their lives and livelihoods. As a region characterized by arid conditions and limited rainfall even in the wettest of years, access to water is critical for agriculture, maintaining local ecosystems, supporting wildlife habitats, and contributing to overall regional biodiversity.

In addition to its importance to agriculture and ecology, water is also a fundamental necessity for the residents of Kansas, providing them with drinking water, sanitation, and the basic needs of daily life.

Because of this, responsible management and conservation of water resources are paramount to ensure the region's sustainability and well-being.

FHSU science students contribute to innovative water studies As the only public university in western Kansas, FHSU is uniquely positioned to study the state's water resources. The benefits of water research in rural Kansas are numerous and far-reaching.

By focusing on rural Kansas, FHSU contributes to understanding the specific challenges local communities face regarding water availability, quality, and sustainability.

This research can provide valuable insight and data-driven solutions to address issues of scarcity, contamination, and infrastructure limitations that disproportionately affect rural areas.

Fort Hays State's water research efforts create educational opportunities for students and contribute to workforce development by involving undergraduate and graduate students in a variety of research projects.

The university offers hands-on experiences, training, and mentorship through these projects, nurturing the next generation of water experts and professionals. This benefits the students and provides the region with a workforce equipped with the knowledge and skills to address water challenges.

FHSU faculty offer courses and conduct research on various water-related topics.

From the study of weather with faculty in geosciences to the health of the Kansas water systems with faculty from both geosciences and biology, FHSU offers many research opportunities.

The in-depth exploration of the following research projects is a small sample of the opportunities students have to learn firsthand about water in rural Kansas and how their involvement can make a difference in the lives of people in Western Kansas.

Photos by: Dawne Leiker and provided by Audrey Rymer, William Wallace, Emma Cohn, and FHSU Department of Geosciences

The Department Of Biological Sciences and the Study of Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria In June of 2022, Dr. Claudia Carvalho, assistant professor of biological sciences at FHSU, attended a presentation on using wastewater monitoring as an early warning to detect COVID-19 outbreaks. At this point in the pandemic, COVID monitoring activities were decreasing nationwide, yet the need for early detection was still great. The study of wastewater proved to be an effective tool.

“I attended an American Society of Microbiology Microbe conference where [the presenters] talked about COVID and how they could detect it before it shows up in the population,” Carvalho said. “I talked to the P.I. [principal investigator] about how wastewater surveillance is a new thing being used to help public health systems.” Upon returning to Hays, Carvalho contemplated how these techniques might be applied in studies that would benefit the community.

“Working in healthcare has been great training,” Garret said. “It provided me with the opportunity to see the big picture of healthcare needs in rural Kansas, and I have learned many skills.”

Jonathan Ferguson of Kensington, also finishing his freshman year, had been a student in Carvalho’s Biology 180 (Principles of Biology) class, where he met Audrey. They credit Carvalho’s teaching of this course, the connections she makes with students, and her willingness to explore research possibilities as the primary reasons for doing research in her lab.

After agreeing to take them on as student researchers, Carvalho spent some time with the students brainstorming potential research projects.

“Research is always evolving. Someone has an idea, we discuss it, decide if it is possible and if it is something we should do, and we move forward from there,” Carvalho explained.

Garret Rymer, Audrey Rymer, and Jonathan Ferguson at K-INBRE Symposium

“After some brainstorming and reading through the literature, I realized this same technique could be applied to detect antibiotic-resistant bacteria,” Carvalho said.

Coincidentally, this conference took place at about the same time that an eager trio of young biology students, all pre-med, began doing research in her lab. Garret Rymer, a recent FHSU graduate in biological sciences, had just finished his junior year as a biology major. Garret was unable to participate in research at the university during his first two years at FHSU due to COVID restrictions and was looking to explore research options in his chosen field.

The students explored several possible research projects and were leaning toward a study of body temperature fluctuations when Carvalho returned from the COVID conference with the idea of doing a study related to wastewater. After discussing the idea of testing for antibiotic-resistant bacteria, everyone agreed that this project was the most interesting and potentially useful.

In the summer of 2022, the students began working on this project. They decided to examine wastewater samples from both Hays and Colby and search for evidence of bacteria resistant to several antibiotics, including Meropenem, Oxacillin, Erythromycin, Doxycycline, Ciprofloxacin, and Clindamycin.

These drugs were chosen as they are some of the most common antibiotics used to treat people and livestock. After working out the process, they were able to compare the various resistance levels with national averages.

Audrey Rymer, Garret’s sister, also a pre-med biology major, had recently completed her freshman year and was excited to find a research project herself. Garret and Audrey are Hays natives, and both spent several years working at Hays Medical Center.

Jonathan Ferguson, Garret Rymer, and Audrey Rymer in PPE as they work in the lab

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These results were presented at the 21st annual Kansas Idea Network of Biomedical Research Excellence (K-INBRE) Symposium in Kansas City in January 2023. In addition to the group poster, Audrey also gave an oral presentation for which she received a K-INBRE Award of Excellence and was invited to present a poster at another conference in June.

While Jonathan agreed with Audrey and Garret, he felt what they learned went far beyond basic lab skills.

“We learned more than just hands-on skills,” Jonathan said. “Dr. Carvalho taught us how to write proposals, work on grants, and how to present at conferences. I think these are pretty big things that I didn’t know.”

While Fort Hays State prides itself on opportunities for all students, especially its undergraduates, to learn and grow, some faculty truly embody this idea and go above and beyond to help students get the most out of their time here.

While the initial research showed high levels of resistance to several antibiotics, this work was just the beginning. Eager to continue, the students collected more samples throughout the year, and testing is ongoing. Audrey and Jonathan have several years at FHSU before they graduate, and they plan to continue working in the lab doing research with Carvalho. Even though Garret completed his biology degree, he is now working on finishing a chemistry degree and plans to continue doing research while also applying to medical schools.

“During COVID, I missed out on learning hands-on skills by not being in classes on campus. Working in the lab has helped me make up for what I missed and taught me so much more, and it has really helped prepare me for the future,” Garret said. “We have really learned a lot, and I am so grateful for this opportunity.”

“I work with many students, both graduate and undergraduate and help them learn about research outside of the regular classroom,” Carvalho said.

“There is an advantage to having students involved in research all the way from the idea stage through when it gets published. This gives them ownership.”

You can check out an interactive version of the poster that was presented at the K-INBRE conference here: https://rb.gy/3mk9f

View of stepping stones on Big Creek

The idea of learning through practice and hands-on experience was echoed by all of the students. Audrey was especially pleased with the opportunities to pursue this level of research at such an early stage in her education.

“Being at FHSU, at a university with a focus on undergraduates, we were able to have opportunities that a lot of our friends who went to bigger schools don’t get,” Audrey said. “They tell me they don’t get to know their professors, don’t have the same opportunities, and can’t get involved in the way we have. I have just learned so much, and I couldn’t have done this at many other places.”

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Department of Geosciences and the Northwest Kansas Mineralization Study While most cities provide water to their citizens, water that undergoes extensive treatment, most of rural Kansas residents don’t have the luxury of treated water. Instead, they rely on well water, drawing directly from one of the seven principal aquifers in Kansas or from one of the many alluvial aquifers associated with a stream or river. With over 70,000 nonpublic wells in Kansas providing water to more than 150,000 Kansans for everything from irrigation and bathing to livestock and human consumption, well water quality is important to everyone.

In 2020, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) decided to examine the distribution and concentrations of Uranium and other well water contaminants, including Arsenic, Selenium, Nitrate, Chloride, Iron, Manganese, Sulfate, and elevated electrical conductivity, often an indicator of polluted water. KDHE approached Dr. Todd Moore, chair of the geosciences department at Fort Hays State, seeking assistance.

“We were immediately eager to collaborate with KDHE on this project,” Moore said.

FHSU would produce a series of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) maps, data sets, and reports and inform the public of their well water concentration levels versus water maximum contaminations levels (MCLs). The project would be conducted over a two-and-a-half-year period, starting in January 2021 and ending in May 2023. During 2021, Prairie Dog Creek near Norton would be the geographic area of focus, and in 2022, the study would shift to two other nearby creeks, Sappa Creek and Beaver Creek.

For such an extensive study, Moore enlisted the assistance of Dr. Thomas Schafer, Dr. Richard Lisichenko, and numerous geoscience students. Jenna Howard, a recent graduate with a bachelor’s degree in geosciences, was one of the first to volunteer. Originally from WaKeeney, Jenna spent more than two years working on the project.

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Jenna was involved with all aspects of the study. She helped with the identification of wells and the contacting of resident well owners to solicit participants. Some of her other work included the collection of samples, analysis, and the preparation and reporting of results.

“I was mostly in charge of making the result maps,” Jenna said. “Dr. Lisichenko, a GIS professional, and Dr. Schafer, a cartographer, helped me with this in the first year, and then I was able to do it after that.”

Also volunteering for the project was William Wallace, Strasburg, Colorado. William holds a B.S. degree in general engineering from Ottawa University. He recently graduated from FHSU with his master’s of geosciences degree. William chose to pursue his master’s degree at FHSU for the university’s affordability and to focus on the Geographic Information System (GIS) component offered in this program. William spent more than a year working on the project.

William began this research working with GIS, the computer-based tools that store, visualize, analyze, and interpret geographic data. Using this system, he was able to identify well owners in the desired region.

One of the initial surprises for the researchers on this project was the relatively low amount of responses the group received.

“We sent out over three hundred letters and had less than sixty people respond, and the majority of responses came from in or around the city of Norton,” Wallace said.

Ultimately, the group successfully sampled water from fifty-one wells across the study area. William led the sampling runs out to northwest Kansas.

“Most of the collecting went well, but there were some challenges,” William explained. “Probably the biggest challenge was finding the super remote wells that didn’t have an address tied to them. We had general coordinates to the wells, but they could be out in the middle of a field, attached to a pivot arm irrigation system, or just exist as a hole in the ground.”

Emma Cohn, a Kansas Academy of Mathematics and Science (KAMS) student from Topeka, was the most recent student to join the project. Emma started working as the data was being prepared for the report to the state when the project’s primary purpose was nearing its end. She is looking forward to exploring what comes next based on this work.

KAMS is Kansas' premier early college program designed to provide a STEM-focused academic experience for gifted & talented 11th & 12th-grade students with an innovative, residential early college experience. Learn more about KAMS: https://www.fhsu.edu/kams/ “Dr. Jonathan Sumrall wants to focus more on geochemical analysis of [the collected water samples],” Emma said. “In the fall, we will begin examining the data to analyze what else is in there – nitrates and sulfates as well as calcium and magnesium, which are the biggest contributors to the hard water here in Kansas.”

Project Findings: The total number of wells successfully sampled for analysis came to fifty-one. Samples from these wells suggest that most contaminants are not found at dangerous levels above MCL broadly across the alluvial plains. Instead, the highest levels of contaminants tended to be localized instances. This was the good news. The bad news, one or more contaminants were found to exceed the MCL at nearly all the sampled wells, with some wells having as many as five contaminants above the MCL.

Jenna Howard assists at Geosciences information table

For the students, the results of this study were eye-opening and life-changing. The experience has helped them determine what they want to do after college. They all agreed that there is nowhere else that they could have been as involved in such an important project.

“I would never have had an opportunity like this anywhere else as a high school student,” Emma said.

“Not only would we not have the opportunity to do the work, but to work with so many of the professors and even the head of the department, that just wouldn’t have been possible.”

According to Dr. Moore, “Opportunities like this are invaluable. This project has allowed the department of geosciences at FHSU to give back to western Kansas communities and collaborate with other state agencies. It has also helped financially support numerous undergraduate and graduate students and exposed them to research that is important to Kansans.”

Based on these results, the students offered several recommendations. First, have well water tested yearly, if not every six months. Testing for most contaminants in this study will most likely require contacting a private lab, but local health departments should be able to provide a list of certified water testing labs.

Keith Sebelius Lake, a man-made reservoir on Prairie Dog Creek, is located near Norton

Second, the students suggest using water filters. They recommend, at a minimum, using an ion exchange filter as found in water softeners. These filters, which are often salt-based, will eliminate most, but not all, contaminants.

A reverse osmosis filter system is required to remove contaminants entirely.

We would like to hear what you think about the content in this issue of ROAR Magazine. Contact us at FHSUNews@fhsu.edu

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