EPA scientists begin testing water samples in Lake Michigan, the Great Lakes

CHICAGO (WLS) -- ABC7 got an exclusive first-hand look at the work being done to monitor the water of Lake Michigan to make sure it's safe to drink.

The testing season is underway. The crew of Lake Guardian and Environmental Protection Agency scientists are in the process of taking water samples in the Great Lakes to see if the water is safe to drink, swim and fish.

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ABC7 got a look at how that's done in Lake Michigan.

The rosette submerges to take liters of water. On Friday, it went about 10 meters down, but the device can go hundreds of meters down.

A long mesh funnel goes overboard to sample zooplankton. Those are the microscopic organisms that fish eat.

Scientist Eric Osantowski said it's his 17th season doing sampling of the Great Lakes for the EPA. He is the Quality Monitoring Technical Lead.

"You feel like you're doing something," Osantowski said.

The corer goes to the lake bed. It takes samples of what ever is on the bottom. A common find is invasive mussels that are disrupting the ecosystem.

"They are really efficient at filtering the water so they are pulling phytoplankton out of the water," Osantowski said. "It doesn't allow those nutrients to make it out into open waters."

Onboard Friday was the EPA's Regional Administrator Anne Vogel. She said despite cuts to some federal agencies, Great Lakes monitoring was not among the cutbacks.

"Clean water has bipartisan support and always has," Vogel said. "Protecting the Great Lakes is critically important, and so I'm happy to say the Great Lakes national program office is funded."

Also onboard was Democratic Congressman Sean Casten, the U.S. Representative of the 6th District who is Vice Chair of the Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition.

"I do think we have to stay very vigilant right now," Casten said. 'We've got to keep our on eye on that ball to continue to make sure we maintain congressional oversight to do what is necessary to preserve this great resource for generations."

For now, the work continues. The samples will be tested and the results published at the end of the year.

On Saturday morning, the crew of Lake Guardian leaves Navy Pier to prepare for its next mission on Monday to test for contaminants in the water.