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Pamlico-Tar Riverkeeper Katey Zimmerman was out in the field, and on the green, this week, assessing water quality for a popular golf course.

The Cypress Landing Golf Course in Chocowinity is certified under the Audubon Cooperative Program for Golf, a program that helps golf courses protect the environment and “preserve the natural heritage of the game of golf.” As such, the course must collect water-quality data twice a year to maintain its certification.

Katey met up with Lee Cooper, a member of the Cypress Landing Green Committee, on Monday to collect dissolved oxygen, temperature and pH readings at four of the golf course’s ponds.

“Lee and I drove around on a golf cart, stopping at their ponds to get readings, and avoiding getting hit by golf balls. Luckily, the course was not too busy,” Katey said.

One question Katey fielded was how the amount of dissolved oxygen in the water could affect birds, to which she had an answer ready.

“Low dissolved oxygen can be an indicator for high nutrient levels or algal blooms, which can be harmful to water fowl. And right after I said that, we saw a big, beautiful blue heron in the pond looking for some food,” she said.

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