Volunteer Monitoring
Across the country, trained volunteers are monitoring the condition of their local streams, lakes, estuaries and wetlands. EPA encourages all citizens to learn about their water resources and supports volunteer monitoring because of its many benefits. Volunteer water monitors build community awareness of pollution problems, help identify and restore problem sites, become advocates for their watersheds and increase the amount of needed water quality information available on our waters.
Volunteer Water Quality Monitoring of lakes, reservoirs, rivers, streams, estuaries, bays, groundwater, wetlands and other water body types is an active movement and essential aspect in protecting and restoring America's water bodies. Hundreds of programs exist nationwide, all unique, creating a community through our collective efforts. Volunteer Monitoring (VM) is not free, however it can be made more cost effective to obtain data and information through a strategy involving collaboration among interested parties, including academia, federal, state, local and tribal governments, private industry, citizens, and others.
Read this article to learn why Volunteer Water Quality Monitoring makes sense.
The National Water Quality Monitoring Council (Council) has recognized the VM community as a viable and valuable member of the monitoring community, essential to its purpose and mission. One of the 25 Council seats is for a Volunteer Monitoring Representative.
This VM website is designed to leverage, not duplicate, existing VM resources, tools and networking opportunities. A wealth of knowledge, experience, wisdom and resources exists within the VM community that can be shared among the entire community.
For more resources to help your program go to http://acwi.gov/monitoring/vm/resources.html