Newsmaker Q&A
Mary Skopec works behind the scenes to improve Iowa waters
PERRY BEEMAN Feb 5, 2016 | 12:00 pm
4 min read time
835 wordsBusiness Record Insider, Energy, Lift IOWALet’s just say Mary Skopec is used to paddling upstream, at least on the job. She is one of those public servants who are doing crucial work on an important and controversial topic — in this case, water quality — but are unknown to many in Greater Des Moines. She is front and center among the technical groups and gives many public presentations, but she’s usually isn’t in the middle of political spats.
Skopec, 50, is water monitoring coordinator at the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. She keeps track of whether the beach swimming areas are safe, and whether nitrate levels are high enough to force added water treatment. She has spent a lot of time lately trying to figure out why blue-green algae are proliferating and emitting dangerous toxins more than they used to in Iowa’s recreational lakes.
She also provides an interesting view of what it’s like to be a female scientist in male-dominated government circles. Her trek through childhood with brothers who were all into the sciences colored her experience. She later earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in geography and a doctorate in environmental science from the University of Iowa.
Skopec thought she wanted to be a doctor, like several of her brothers, but quickly learned she would rather work outdoors than in an hospital.
She has been one of the key players in Iowa’s water quality efforts since she joined the Iowa Department of Natural Resources in 1998. She is a diehard Hawkeye fan who loves to canoe and kayak and now plays hockey.
Skopec said she’d like to spend the rest of her career educating Iowans on water quality and investigating the blue-green algae outbreak.
We sat down to chat with Skopec about her career, Iowa’s water quality and women in technical careers.
How did you become interested in geography and environmental science?
I think good scientists are good observers of the natural world. One of the really striking things for me is when I was in high school, I ran cross country. We ran in a park in Cedar Rapids. And over the course of my four years of running cross country, this park went from having this little swale to this Grand Canyon-like erosion. It just captivated me.
What does it say about you that you even noticed that the jump at the Cedar Rapids park was getting longer on the cross country route?
I think naturally I’m introverted, and introverts naturally internalize what they see. I’m a really strong observer. I go back to being a kid and methodically peeling the caps of acorns in my backyard, and sitting in the lilac bushes.
You helped start the IOWATER program, which is a network of volunteers who help monitor water quality. Why was that important?
Stewardship cannot reside in (the Iowa Department of Natural Resources) or the (Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship). It has to reside in the citizens.
Stewardship only happens through knowledge. You have to understand what you are trying to achieve. I think producers are natural scientists. I try to give them the tools to make the right decision.
What has changed about water quality in Iowa in the years since you joined the DNR?
One of the big trends we are seeing is more frequent and severe blue-green algae blooms. We started monitoring for (toxins from blue-green algae) in 2005 based on an event out at Carter Lake where there were a number of dead geese. Now, we just see those blooms around the state increasing. The number of advisories has increased the past few years.
Are we improving the waterways in general?
I’m finishing up a report now on the Yellow River headwaters, where they have done a lot of (conservation) practices to reduce sediment. We are seeing some pretty encouraging declines in bacteria. It’s an intense effort in a small watershed. Often, what we don’t have is enough stuff going on to really detect that change.
If we’re really going to show progress, we need to do an awful lot of work in small watersheds and monitor like crazy so we can show progress.
Do you think we need regulations on farming to solve the water quality issues?
If there were no troopers on Interstate 80, would you drive the speed limit?
What would you like to focus on in the remainder of your career?
I think the blue-green algae stuff has really caught my interest, partly because we have focused on the recreational side of that, but there is a drinking water side too. I also want to get Iowans engaged in water quality and get the data in their hands. In my ideal world, every Iowan would know what their impact is on water quality.
What do you do when you aren’t busy cleaning the waterways?
I watch the (Iowa) Hawkeyes. One of my favorite things is I have taken up hockey in my elderly years (playing right wing). I like to canoe and kayak. I am an avid sports nut.