Spirit Lake, Iowa

Review by Andie Karvelis:

Water. It’s one of our most precious resources and I know I am guilty of taking it for granted. To be able to have a hot shower, brush my teeth, have good drinking water and natural springs or lakes to swim in. It’s priceless.

Over ⅓ of U.S. lakes are contaminated by toxic Blue-Green Algae and an invasive species called Zebra Mussels. I honestly had no idea it was this many lakes until watching The Value of Water. This candid documentary by Carter Considine centers around Spirit Lake in Iowa. Not only is it a visually stunning film but it’s really educational and fascinating.

For instance, I was unaware that the usual way contaminated lakes are treated is with copper sulfate and herbicides. Which is really harsh for the wildlife and the environment, but it’s just as dangerous to leave the lakes untreated since you can’t drink, swim or fish in the water. If you want to let your dog “Fluffy” off leash to play and he stops to take a drink of lake water? Needless to say, it’s bye-bye Fluffy.

Here’s the wonderful part…The residents of Spirit Lake, political representatives of Iowa and nearby townspeople have all gotten together with scientists and found a way to cleanly prevent the algae from growing and to stop the spread of the Zebra Mussels. It’s really ingenious and the beautiful thing is that everyone was on board to do their part.

Each interview was impactful and educational. I really enjoyed how these simple solutions could help improve and clean our fresh water lakes, preserving them to future generations.