World Water Monitoring Day
An international volunteer monitoring event that occurs every year from September to October. For more information on World Water Monitoring Day please visit www.worldwatermonitoringday.us/. For more information on events in Virginia, please contact Stuart Torbeck via email (Charles.Torbeck@deq.virginia.gov) or phone at (804) 698-4461.
Citizen Monitoring groups
This is a select list of groups that have active citizen monitoring programs. It is by no means a complete list of citizen groups. As we attempt to compile a complete list that may be available later, please e-mail Stuart Torbeck or call (804) 698-4461 to make additions.
Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay www.acb-online.org/
This group performs monitoring activities of the tributaries to the Bay through the Chesapeake Bay Citizen Monitoring Program. This program is active in Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Virginia and has been active since 1985. The citizen monitors check dissolved oxygen, pH, salinity, Secchi and water depth, and air and water temperature on a weekly basis. More recently, the program has initiated sampling of nutrients and SAV (submerged aquatic vegetation).
Contact Info: (804) 775-0951, 530 East Main Street, 2nd Floor Richmond, VA 23218
Appomattox River WQ Monitoring Program www.longwood.edu/cleanva/
Headquartered at Longwood University in Farmville, Virginia, this program utilizes the resources of the university to analyze water quality samples from the Appomattox River Watershed. The program is run by Longwood University and Clean Virginia Waterways, a nonprofit organization.
Contact Info: Katie Register, Clean Virginia Waterways, (434) 395-2602, cleanva@longwood.edu or
David Buckalew, PhD., Associate Professor of Biology,
Dept of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Longwood University,
(434) 395-2586, buckalewdw@longwood.edu
Audubon Naturalist Society www.audubonnaturalist.org/
Performing macroinvertebrate sampling in Northern Virginia and Maryland.
Big Walker Soil and Water Conservation District
Looking for volunteers in Wythe and Bland Counties.
Contact Info: (276) 228-3513
Friends of Chesterfield's Riverfront www.chesterfieldriverfront.org/
Friends of Chesterfield's Riverfront is a non-profit organization interested in promoting and enhancing the Appomattox and James Rivers.
Contact Info: Jennifer Sidleck, Executive Director, (804) 796-1703, jsidleck@chesterfieldrivers.org
Friends of Page Valley www.infostat.com/friends/index.html
This group is active in many water quality activities in Page County. They are in the start-up stages of a comprehensive water quality monitoring program.
Friends of the North Fork Shenandoah River www.fnfsr.org/site/Welcome.html
Not only is this group active in collecting water quality samples from the North Fork of the Shenandoah River and its tributaries, they also sponsor ground water monitoring activities, and are very active in land use issues that effect the water quality in their back yards.
Contact Info: Patricia K. Maui, (540) 459-8550, friends@shentel.net, P.O. Box 746, Woodstock, VA 22664
Friends of the Rappahannock River www.riverfriends.org/
This group participates in water quality monitoring in conjunction with the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay.
Friends of the Shenandoah River www.fosr.org/
This group is one of the premier monitoring groups in Virginia. Along with the Friends of the North Fork of the Shenandoah River (see below entry), the Friends of the North River, James Madison University, and the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, they sample at many locations throughout the Shenandoah Valley. The group has a laboratory at Shenandoah University where they perform all the analysis on the water samples collected by all of groups mentioned above.
Contact Info: (540) 665-1286, friendsofshenandoahriver@gmail.com, P.O. Box 410, Front Royal, VA 22630
James River Association www.jamesriverassociation.org/
Very active in the water quality issues for this historic river.
Contact Info: (804) 788-8811, info@jamesriverassociation.org
Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy www.loudounwildlife.org/
Established in 1997 by a coalition of several local groups: the Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy, Audubon Naturalist Society, Loudoun Soil and Water Conservation District, Catoctin Creek Watershed Project, and the North Fork Goose Creek Watershed Project. The Project has approximately 45 active citizen participants, who monitor 11 sites throughout Loudoun County. Volunteer Monitors are trained in and follow the Audubon Naturalist Society protocol for northern Piedmont Streams. In addition to stream monitoring, the group conducts an extensive educational program in water quality issues.
Contact Info: Meg Findley, stream monitoring coordinator, mfindley@loudounwildlife.org
Mattaponi and Pamunkey Rivers Association www.mpra.org/
This group is participating (and organizing) a two year water quality monitoring program for the York River Basin. Citizen monitors collect water samples which are sent to a lab for nutrient and suspended solid analysis.
Contact Info: mpra@mpra.org
McClure River Restoration Project www.lpswcd.org/MRRP/MRRP.htm
Located in Clintwood, Virginia, volunteers sample for E. coli bacteria from over 30 sites in the McClure River Watershed.
Contact Info: (276) 926-6621
Northern Virginia Water Quality Monitoring http://www.fairfaxmonitors.org/
This group is coordinated through the Northern Virginia Soil and Water Conservation Service. They perform biological assessments of streams and rivers throughout Northern Virginia using the Izaak Walton League Save Our Stream Method.
Contact Info: Dan Schwartz, (703) 324-1422, dan.schwartz@fairfaxcounty.gov
Piankatank River Watershed Project
Coordinated through the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay.
Contact Info: (804) 725-4622
Shenandoah Valley Pure Water 2000 www.purewaterforum.org/
The mission statement of this organization is as follows: "A diverse Forum dedicated to promote water pollution prevention, prioritize and address water quality issues, and enhance environmental education in our schools and communities throughout the Shenandoah Valley Watershed."
Contact Info: Tom Benzing, (540) 568-2794, benzintr@jmu.edu
Smith Mountain Lake Association http://www.smlassociation.org/Home
Since 1987 this group has been collecting water quality information from Smith Mountain Lake. The program is administered cooperatively by the Smith Mountain Lake Association and scientists from Ferrum College.
Contact Info: (540) 719-0690, TheOffice@smlassociation.org
StreamWatch www.streamwatch.org/
StreamWatch monitors and assesses the Rivanna basin streams and rivers to help the community maintain and restore healthy waterways. With the help of dedicated volunteers, the StreamWatch partnership supplies environmental data to the community to help facilitate wise management of this invaluable ecosystem.
Contact Info: John Murphy, (434) 923-8642, johnmurphy@streamwatch.org
Virginia Citizens for Water Quality www.virginiacwq.org/
Working together for better water quality in the Commonwealth
Virginia Citizens for Water Quality is a statewide consortium of citizen groups, agency representative, businesses, and individuals interested in preserving and enhancing Virginia's water resources. The consortium strives to provide a communications link among its members and provide a strong foundation for citizen-based water monitoring and protection activities by:
- Working with the state to create an avenue for data use and other stewardship opportunities,
- Identifying the range of monitoring methods used across Virginia, and,
- Identifying funding sources
Membership in Citizens for Water Quality is open to anyone interested in participating. There are no dues or required meetings to attend. We look forward to your participation!
Virginia Save Our Streams www.vasos.org/
This organization coordinates the Save Our Streams Program throughout the state. They provide training for groups interested in biological monitoring of streams and rivers. Check out their web page for information on the Save Our Streams Protocols, Calendar of Events, and how to be trained!
Contact Info: (804) 615-5036, vasosoffice@vasos.org, P.O. Box 8297, Richmond, VA 23226