Water Quality Monitoring

Water quality monitoring helps researchers understand how agricultural practices affect rivers, streams, and downstream ecosystems. By measuring nutrient and sediment movement from fields, drainage systems, and waterways, researchers can identify effective conservation strategies that improve both water quality and agricultural resilience.

Why It Matters

Agricultural runoff can carry nutrients and sediment into nearby waterways, impacting ecosystems and drinking water supplies. Monitoring provides the data needed to better understand these losses and improve conservation outcomes.

Key benefits include:

Measuring nutrient and sediment movement from agricultural landscapes
Evaluating conservation practices under real-world conditions
Supporting science-based recommendations for farmers and land managers
Improving long-term water quality and agricultural sustainability

Focus on the Western Lake Erie Basin

Water quality monitoring is especially important in the Western Lake Erie Basin (WLEB), where excess phosphorus has contributed to harmful algal blooms in Lake Erie.

Monitoring efforts help:

Identify when and how nutrients leave agricultural fields
Improve strategies to reduce phosphorus losses
Support regional water quality goals
Protect drinking water and aquatic ecosystems

IWR Expertise

The Institute of Water Research (IWR) at Michigan State University designs and implements monitoring systems that generate practical, science-based insights for producers, policymakers, and conservation partners.

IWR Expertise Includes:

Edge-of-field and tile drainage monitoring
Water quality data collection and analysis
Conservation practice evaluation
Watershed-scale monitoring and assessment
Data-driven solutions for water quality improvement

Priority Areas

Edge-of-field monitoring – Measures nutrient losses directly from agricultural fields
Tile drainage monitoring – Tracks subsurface nutrient transport
Storm event sampling – Captures high-impact runoff events
In-stream monitoring – Assesses watershed-wide water quality impacts
Sediment monitoring – Evaluates erosion and sediment movement
Practice performance monitoring – Measures conservation effectiveness
Groundwater monitoring – Detects nutrient leaching and long-term impacts
Real-time sensor networks – Supports continuous monitoring and adaptive management

Current Work

IWR and its partners are conducting tile drain and edge-of-field monitoring to better understand nutrient movement during storm events and connect soil health practices to measurable water quality improvements.

IWR is also leading a $12 million pay-for-performance conservation initiative in the WLEB that rewards measurable environmental outcomes rather than practice adoption alone.

Team Leadership

Team lead:

Jeremiah Asher - Assistant Director, Institute of Water Research

Jeremiah Asher is the Assistant Director at the Institute of Water Research, having an extensive background in geographic information systems (GIS), project management, decision support system development, and natural resource management. His research focus is on translating field research to decision support application systems. He is the chief application developer for two nationally awarded decision tools, the North Carolina Ecosystem Enhancement Program for Pasquotank Watershed and the Water Withdrawal Assessment Tool interface for the State of Michigan. His most recent activities and research focus on developing sensors for managing water, groundwater and managed aquifer recharge, edge-of-field monitoring, and floating wetland research.