Cooperative Lakes Area Monitoring Project (CLAMP)

The Iowa Great Lakes region has a long tradition of volunteer involvement in the monitoring of its lakes. The Okoboji Protective Association, the Spirit Lake Protective Association, and the East Okoboji Improvement Corporation have all been involved in a variety of efforts to monitor and improve water quality. Nevertheless, until 1999 a long-term unified water-quality monitoring program for the Iowa Great Lakes and surrounding area did not exist. Without long-term uniformly collected data, it is difficult to determine if the water quality of the lakes is changing for the better or worse. The Clean Water Alliance had the establishment of a unified monitoring system as a major goal in its long-term plan. In this plan, Iowa Lakeside Laboratory was identified as the lead organization for developing a volunteer-based water-quality monitoring program for the Iowa Great Lakes region. Consequently, Lakeside implemented parts of a monitoring plan developed by Gary Phillips, Iowa Lakes Community college. Lakeside's monitoring program focuses on nutrient (nitrogen and phosphorus) levels in the lakes. Data on chlorophyll a (an index of algal abundance) and water clarity (Secchi Disc depth) were also to be collected to provide an integrated measure of a lake's water quality.

In the spring of 1999, Jane Shuttleworth, Iowa Lakeside Laboratory, was responsible for recruiting and training the first group of volunteers. This new organization was named the Cooperative Lakes Area Monitoring Project or CLAMP. It now has volunteers collecting data on 11 lakes in NW Iowa .

In 2005, CLAMP began a working relationship with the Iowa State Limnology Laboratory, which will result in volunteer data being accessible via the internet as part of the Iowa Lakes Information system. CLAMP data from 2005 is available online at http://limnology.eeob.iastate.edu/clamp/.Summaries of water quality data prior to 2005 colleced by CLAMP volunteers are available on the Lakeside Website. Funding for the chemical analyses of water samples has been provided through the generous support of the Okoboji Protective Association, the Spirit Lake Protective Association, the East Okoboji Improvement Corporation, the Dickinson County Water Quality Commission, and a number of other organiztions and institutions.

Anyone who wishes to become a CLAMP volunteer should contact Jane Shuttleworth, CLAMP Coordinator, at Iowa Lakeside Laboratory (712-337-3669 ext. 7).