The Hamilton County Health Department is plunging its hands into Hoosier waters—not for a cool respite, but to monitor the lifeblood of Indiana: its rivers and streams. Partnering with the Indiana Department of Environmental Management, local experts are busy with the Hoosier Riverwatch program, analyzing and recording what's really swirling around in those waters.

In discussions that are as clear as the streams they're studying, the staff, including Senior Environmental Health Specialist Morgan Bennett, details a routine that's less about red tape and more about wading boots. "Our office participates as often as we can," Bennett told Hamilton County official site, and added, "It is not a part of our regulatory requirements, but it is a nice break from our normal activities during the summer months. It allows us to get directly involved with the stream and connect to nature."

Recently, the team took to Little Cicero Creek in Bishops Park near Arcadia with college students doubling as part-time water quality technicians. They didn't just skim the surface; the group measured a plethora of factors: temperature, flow, and even how murky or crystal the water looks. They also dove deep into chemical and biological markers, keeping tabs on nitrates, pH, phosphate, and all-important dissolved oxygen levels.

But there’s more to water quality than chemical compounds. "We also test for E. coli and collect and identify macroinvertebrates," Bennett explains. It's not just a bug hunt; these creatures are like living beacons of river health—some are more pollution tolerant than the others. Keeping an eye on the variety of these little swimmers can be telling. "We’re looking for diversity of these organisms as they can indicate the overall water quality of the stream," Bennett emphasized in the same statement obtained by the Hamilton County.