Eye on the Water

The Institute for Watershed Studies provides long-term water quality data for Lake Whatcom.
Photos and video by Luke Hollister

Video: Students Lillie Tomlinson and Cait Steiner collect data in Lake Whatcom for regular water quality testing for the city of Bellingham. Since 1988, Western’s Institute for Watershed Studies has provided long-term water quality data for Lake Whatcom, the source of drinking water for about 100,000 people in Whatcom County.  

a student on a boat in the middle of Lake Whatcom consults their notes while conducting water quality testing.