Midwest Water Stewards

10/21/2026

Quinten and Morgan are always out in the field so some of you might be asking “What is Maria doing?” Aside from planning the fall data download and Aquifer Performance Test Analysis. She has been preparing for a presentation.

This past Friday Maria had the opportunity to speak at the Indiana Groundwater Association Bicentennial Convention in Indy. It was her first solo presentation over water monitoring in the state. Maria enjoyed this opportunity to speak on something she is passionate about!

10/15/2026

Quinten and Morgan have been out and about in the cool fall weather quite a bit since the heat of summer has passed. Pictured are the two completing a seepage grid of 15 conductivity tests on McKenzie Creek! These conductivity tests are very important as they allow us to better understand the interconnection between the surface and ground water.

10/13/2026

We see many things in the field, some worse than others. In this case we had a well that was run over by a tractor. No matter the problem our team can always figure out a way to fix it. This one in particular was quite the challenge for Maria, she had to dig about a 4ft hole to fix the well because it was cracked quite a ways below grade. But the well is back in shape with a few extra ballards so it’s not accidentally in the way again!

10/07/2026

Here is a quick glimpse of Quinten doing a stream flow profile on Butterfield Creek in Northern Michigan. He may be moving very fast, but our profiles can take anywhere from 20 minutes to over an hour to complete.

If you watch the whole video you can see where Morgan’s phone took a dive into the stream as well!

09/29/2026

You can teach young people important information. Or you can let them work with their own hands and use their own critical-thinking skills and they'll learn themselves.

Last week, the Midwest Water Stewards team did both of those things as several dozen high school students and North Ed Future Farmers of America Career Tech students from across Northern Michigan spent two days conducting hands-on environmental research at Iott Seed Farms in Kalkaska.

The students spent a day in a farm field at a monitoring well at Iott Seed Farms on the first day, then spent the next day in a nearby stream. They learned with their own hands, eyes and brains about how Iott Seed Farms and 100 or so other farms in Michigan and northern Indiana are monitoring water levels and data to ensure they are being good stewards of the environment.

09/25/2026

Our team had the opportunity to host a field day up in Kalkaska County for high schoolers and North Ed FFA Career Tech students. We gathered at Iott Seed Farms and Big Cannon Creek to conduct this two-day event.

"Since this was my first field day with high school students and Todd letting Maria, Quinten, and I do most of the teaching, it was a great opportunity for me to fine-tune how to talk about my job and explain what all we do at Midwest Water Stewards. It was an amazing few days at some beautiful sites, but I sure am tired from keeping kids engaged all day. I truly can't wait for the next field day with these kids. And, I can never complain about getting to splash around in a stream all day!"
-Morgan Ball

Hear more about this from Todd and the president of the FFA North Ed Chapter in the article below, and take a look at the local news coverage from Kalkaska!

High school and FFA students recently conducted environmental research at Iott Seed Farms in Kalkaska County to study soil health and water sustainability. Partnering with Midwest Water Stewards, participants measured stream velocity and monitored groundwater to assess the impact of potato farming o...

09/22/2026

OUR MISSION
Midwest Water Stewards is a group of farmers and agribusinesses who are driven to protect and preserve the water resources that make our area one of the most valuable and viable regions for agriculture in the world. We care deeply for the natural resources we rely on from soils, to streams, to aquifers.

Want to learn more? Check us out at midwestwaterstewards.com.

09/15/2026

MEET OUR TEAM!
Maria Swearingen is a project hydrogeologist who joined the Midwest Water Stewards team in May 2024. She majored in Earth and Environmental Science and minored in Environmental Sustainability while earning her degree from Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana.

Maria grew up in the Blue Ridge Mountains, so her love of the outdoors was established early. She loves hiking, playing pickleball, swimming and baking.

Here’s a bit more about Maria:

What does your job entail?
“I focus on the groundwater side of what we do here. I help install monitoring wells, analyze groundwater level data, do aquifer analysis and run flow checks on irrigation systems. Pretty much anything surrounding groundwater, I’m your gal.”

What do you enjoy most about working with Midwest Water Stewards?
“I love going out and collecting the data. It's such an amazing opportunity to be able to go out and see what is going on and then being able to come back to the office and analyzing the data.”

Why is this work important to you?
“It helps others better understand how much water there is and gives data to back up availability and potential impacts on the water source.”

Why is water/the environment in Michigan and northern Indiana worth preserving?
“These areas are so beautiful. The streams and water sources are amazing and huge spots for fishing and other activities. The water in Michigan and northern Indiana is so important because it helps define these areas. Whether it is the Great Lakes or farming or whatever, water plays a huge role, and it is worth preserving.”

Thanks to Maria for all she does for Midwest Water Stewards and the environment!

09/10/2026

The Midwest Water Stewards team has been busy traveling around Michigan doing seepage testing and stream profiles. We visit each of the 250-plus sites we monitor two to three times a year.

How busy have we been? Well, you might notice that Morgan didn’t even take the time to get out of the stream before enjoying a midday snack. She said it was a great place for a snack, so this might become a bit of a tradition.

It really is great to work in such beautiful spots. They are worth protecting, which is why all of us at Midwest Water Stewards and the farmers that partner with us do what we do.

09/08/2026

Todd Feenstra: "Our goal is to build trust in those models. We all want that. You may get an answer that is still no, but it's a lot easier to get an answer and accept that from a system that you trust. That's a very different standard than we're using right now."

Thanks to the Farmer's Exchange for writing about water districts. This is an issue that is extremely important to farmers across Michigan.

STORY: https://shorturl.at/GVGb6