One of the most pressing climate change problems facing Minnesota is water contamination. Student-led initiatives, including Upper School Council’s sustainability proposal and service work in Environmental Science, actively combat the climate crisis.

Senior class representative Leo Benson commented on the goal of USC’s proposal: “We want to focus on education… mak[ing] sure that the student body knows ways that they can be sustainable.”

Environmental Science class learned about the impact of water contamination in Minnesota. Students sampled water from specific lakes and rivers assigned as a part of a two-week project. Senior Clare Kimmel said, “We tested the water [for] products like nitrates, phosphates, pH, and dissolved oxygen [to determine] the health of that water.”

Data collected by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency reveals the result of increasingly severe climate change trends impacting the quality and drinkability of water. In Minnesota, 305 bodies of water were added to the Impaired Waters list in 2022 per the federal Clean Water Act, adding to the 2,904 total water bodies considered contaminated in the state. The list is compiled by MPCA and updated every two years.

Meanwhile, USC plans to invite a sustainability-focused speaker for Community Day on Jan. 26 and involve the House Cup to get students more engaged and involved with sustainability. “I’d say this year is a lot more education-based and then maybe in the next few years, we move to bigger, more lasting changes,” Benson said.

Students in Environmental Science also stenciled drains, which involved spray painting storm drains near campus to inform passersby that any trash or chemicals left on the ground will eventually wash into rivers and lakes.

Runoff from urban landscapes carries harmful chemicals, waste, and organic material that do not always break down in water. Rising rates of water pollution impact people differently, depending on accessibility and the resources at their disposal. For example, groundwater makes up 75% of available drinking water in the state according to MPCA. Contaminating this vital resource with waste and pollutants can devastate the lives of those rely on clean water to survive.

So far, USC’s sustainability committee members have met with administration to discuss their ideas. “We’re going to try to put up posters around the school, just kind of do things that don’t require a lot of funding,” Benson said.

Aside from tackling the larger issues of the climate crisis, individuals can also make an impact by changing their daily habits, such as picking up trash on the ground, using sustainable transportation, and sorting recycling, compost and trash. “So even something as simple as unplugging… your computer [after charging] is a great way [to be sustainable],” Benson said.

While the focus of sustainability at school is urban environments, rural agricultural activity is the main contributor to water pollution in Minnesota. Drained water from farmlands contains excess phosphorus and nitrates, disturbing aquatic ecosystems and contaminating water sources. Rerouting rivers and streams for agricultural and construction purposes has significantly affected the amount of debris found in lakes and rivers. Ditching, channeling, and diverting water loosens up dirt and causes further habitat erosion.

To solve the contamination problem, Minnesota’s Department of Natural Resources is converting farm irrigation systems to be more effective: using a sprinkler design or drip irrigation. These methods use less water, reducing runoff and energy used.

Students can learn more about SPA’s sustainability plans with USC’s sustainability proposal, linked on the monthly newsletter.