Page 28 - GW_2020Winter

Quality Time continued
H e’s one of the Chicago
Zoological Society’s most
important employees—and
you’ve probably never heard of him.
John Kanzia is our Environmental Quality
Manager. He ensures that our animal
habitats meet the needs of our animals—
that the dolphins and pinnipeds are swimming in clean water and
the polar bears are comfortable on 85-degree days. He’s called in at
3:00 a.m. when a water pump in THE SWAMP malfunctions or
when the water temperature fluctuates in the shark tank.
Kanzia conducts multiple field measurements and lab
procedures to evaluate animal enclosure features, with a focus
on water-quality testing. “A lot of times, the veterinarians and
the curators tell me what they are targeting,” said Kanzia. “I put
devices in the environments and get the measurements. I give that
information to our Plant and Facilities Department so we can try
to create the environments they want.”
Nicknamed the “The Gadget Guy,” Kanzia works with more
than 30 instruments in the zoo’s EQ or Environmental Quality
Lab. “I’m sort of a tech geek so I enjoy all the instrumentation,
and the maintenance and upkeep of that stuff,” he said.
As you’ll find in this interview with Kanzia, he is unassuming,
yet knowledgeable and deeply committed to his work. He is also
respected by his peers. Last year, he was elected president of
the Aquarium & Zoo Facilities Association, an organization
of 350 North American professionals who design, construct,
and maintain animal habitats, facilities, and related equipment.
What do you do?
I make sure we are providing the appropriate habitats for the
animals. The main parts of the environmental quality program
consist of monitoring water quality, indoor air quality, noise,
and sound. I also measure how much energy terrestrial animals
expend on hot or cold days to thermoregulate [regulate body
temperature]. This tells us if the animals are comfortable or not.
I’m a one-man department. I’m on call 24 hours a day, seven
days a week, with one of our life support operators and other Plant
and Facilities staff. These guys run the exhibits every day. If there’s
a mechanical-equipment malfunction in the middle of the night,
we come in and make repairs. We’re contributing to the best
possible care for the animals.
28 GATEWAYS | QUALITY TIME
Above: Kanzia instructs a college
student in CZS' College and High
School Internship Program in how to
collect a water sample from Swan Lake.
Right: Kanzia shows off the sensor
array on a Hydrolab water quality
datalogger during a tour of the EQ Lab.
Far right: Kanzia performs an
alkalinity titration test on a sample
from a LIVING COAST coral exhibit.
How do you spend most of your time?
About 75 percent of what I do is water-quality testing, data
entry, and reporting. I monitor over 60 aquatic systems in
the summer and about 50 systems the rest of the year when
outdoor bodies of water are winterized. I test every aquatic
system at least once every other week—that’s 110 to 115 water
samples a week. I probably run about 7,000 water samples and
over 20,000 individual tests a year.
Other things come up throughout the day. I’m dealing with
a duckweed infestation at Swan Lake now and I'm pulling
hundreds of pounds of duckweed out of the lake each day.
What do you test the water for?
The tests I perform are: pH, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate,
orthophosphate, calcium, alkalinity, salinity/conductivity,
turbidity, total bacteria, and total coliforms. Not every
system gets all of those tests, though. For example, we check
bacteria levels in marine mammal systems and fish systems
that are equipped with disinfection systems (UV, chlorine, or
ozone). And we check calcium and alkalinity on coral systems.
When they collect the samples, animal care specialists or life
support operators check the water temperature.
Our program and testing are certified through routine
inspections by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums,
U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the American
Humane Association.