MERIDIAN TOWNSHIP - Monitoring a body of water can take several different forms; from biological monitoring which means looking at things like algae, fish species analysis and critters living in the water such as benthic macro-invertebrates to chemical monitoring where nutrients and toxics (like metal) are measured.

"What we're doing is going out twice a year, once in the spring and once in the fall and we collect macro-invertebrates...what we're looking for is diversity of species out there and the number of species and we're using that criteria to rate the quality of the water," Theresa Lark, Executive Director of Mid-Michigan Environmental Action Council. Theresa talks about how the Red Cedar River has come a long way from being the "Red Sewer River" and she, along with her colleagues, hope to keep it up.

There are many organizations around in Ingham County that take the time to ensure that the Red Cedar River remains a clean, safe body of water. Michigan State University, the City of East Lansing, Meridian Township, MIDMEAC and a host of other jurisdictions are all members of the Greater Lansing Regional Committee for Stormwater Management (GLRC) provides outreach programs with educational activities and learning tools as a way to include the community in an effort to keep the river clean.

Ruth Kline Robach, Outreach Specialist in the Department of Community Sustainability and the Institute of Research at MSU says that "a watershed management plan is in place, ongoing monitoring is in place and we're now working on best management practices that would ultimately benefit the water quality in the Red Cedar River."

Kline Robach also mentions ways to get involved, "I encourage you to just google it if you don't know where to start and find out how you can get involved, or call your local public works department."