Where Does Our Water Come From & Where Does It Go?

The Grinnell College Center for Prairie Studies will host a panel discussion on water quality in Grinnell and Poweshiek County on Sunday, Feb. 25. The free and public discussion, titled “Where Does Our Water Come From and Where Does it Go?” will begin at 2 p.m. Bucksbaum Center for the Arts, Room 152.

Water comes from the tap and goes down the drain, but this is the extent of most people’s knowledge about their drinking and waste water. The goal of this panel is to demystify the sources of drinking water and what happens to waste water in Poweshiek County.

Peter Jacobson, professor of biology at Grinnell College, will moderate the panel. His research spans a range of topics, from the influence of changing land use and hydrology on Iowa’s rivers, streams, and wetlands, to the influence of prairie reconstruction on surface and groundwater quality. The four panelists are:

• Jan Anderson, water resources director at the City of Grinnell. During his time working as wastewater superintendent and director, he has been through a wastewater treatment plant upgrade as well as an upgrade at the water treatment plant. In 2000, he helped with the development and construction of a new deep water well.
• Chad Coburn, executive director of Poweshiek Water Association. He serves on the Iowa Rural Water Association Board of Directors, where he chairs two committees, is an officer on two more, and a representative on two others.  He was appointed to the Iowa Watershed Improvement Review Board by former Iowa Gov. Branstad in 2017 and is an advisory board member for the Little Bear Creek Watershed Improvement Project in Poweshiek County.
• Mindy Sieck, watershed coordinator with the Poweshiek Soil and Water Conservation District. She has worked on improving soil and water quality within the county since 2008. In 2017 the SWCD received the Conservation Districts of Iowa and Division of Soil Conservation and Water Quality’s Outstanding Watershed Award, due to its efforts in conservation and diligence in recruiting funding from federal, state, and local sources for the Little Bear Creek Watershed Improvement Project.
• Matt Tapken, chief operations officer at Poweshiek Water Association. He has been operating water and waste water systems for 23 years, 21 of those for PWA. A current grade four water treatment and distribution licensed operator, as well as former Operator of the Year, Tapken is well versed in water treatment and the distribution of water.