PROGRAM OBJECTIVES

Will give students real world watershed science experience.

Will be a sustainable citizen-based, scientifically-sound monitoring program using standard methods, equipment, and training.

Will improve citizen awareness and understanding of watersheds and proper land and water stewardship practices

Will assit with making sound resource management decisions based on quality data and informed discussion.

The goals of the program are to develop baseline water quality data, provide hands-on "real world" science opportunities for students, and promote greater citizen awareness and understanding of watersheds and the role of watershed districts. Senior high students from participating schools perform the monitoring including field collection and lab analysis. Each school generally samples from two to four sites from the river and/or tributaries in their locale. Students have been involved in two types of monitoring--chemical/physical and macroinvertebrate. Chemical/physical monitoring involves collection of monthly samples from April or May through October or November. The following parameters are monitored: turbidity, pH, conductivity, dissolved oxygen, total phosphorus, nitrate nitrogen, fecal coliform and air and water temperature. Hach meters and their respective protocols are used for analysis. 

Benthic macroinvertebrate monitoring involves collection and identification of organisms that live on the river bottom, specifically animals without backbones that live at least part of their life cycles in or on the bottom of a body of water. These organisms are indicators of the biological health of our rivers and streams. While chemical monitoring provides a "snapshot" of water quality conditions at a particular point in time, macroinvertebrate monitoring can provide a better indication of water quality over a longer period of time as these organisms live in the stream throughout their life cycles. Macroinvertebrate sampling is done near the same locations as the chemical monitoring however only two samples are collected per year--in the spring and fall. This biological monitoring was discontinued after the initial year due to resource limitations, scheduling difficulties and lack of standard methods and agency support. It is anticipated that biological monitoring will resume as these difficulties are addressed.