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In 1998, 17 volunteers began monitoring the health of 22
streams sites in southeast Minnesota. Today, more than 400 volunteers monitor
500 stream sites across the state as part of the Citizen Stream Monitoring
program. The data is indispensable to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency
(MPCA).
“Where else do you have continuous data like that? It’s
really rare. That citizen component is really important,” said Donna Rasmussen,
director of the Fillmore Soil and Water Conservation District, where the
Citizen Stream Monitoring Program began 20 years ago.
Volunteers adopt a stream site, use a simple tool called a
Secchi tube to measure water clarity and track how clear the water is every week
during the summer. They report their findings and observations to the MPCA. The
agency uses the information to determine whether the streams meet water quality
standards designed to make sure those streams are fishable and swimmable.
The MPCA is celebrating the Citizen Stream Monitoring
Program’s 20th anniversary this year. It produced a video program
recognizing volunteers and their contributions to cleaner water (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dYpE66xsUI).
For many volunteers, their observations and opportunities to bring attention to
streams are just as important as the data they collected.
One volunteer featured in the video, Richard Betz, is a
nine-year monitor on a Flute River site in Cook County. “I can report things
like this slumping bank. If I wouldn’t have been here, the county soil and
water (conservation district) wouldn’t know about this,” he said.
Ruthann Yaeger, an 11-year volunteer on Silver Creek in
Olmsted County, said, “More importantly, the Citizen Stream Monitoring Program
gives me a base to speak to people about water and to show them ways this
impacts our watershed and their wells.”
With Minnesota’s 69,000 miles of streams and more than
14,000 lakes, the MPCA cannot monitor all that water on a continual basis. For
some lakes and streams, citizen data are the only data available. For all waterbodies
monitored, data are crucial to tracking long-term trends in water quality and
helps the agency determine whether lake and stream health are getting better or
worse over time.
If you’d like to be part of the Citizen Stream Monitoring
program to help ensure clean water in Minnesota, visit www.pca.state.mn.us/cmp,
or call the MPCA at 651-296-6300 (Twin Cities) or 1-800-657-3864 (Greater
Minnesota). The MPCA provides equipment and training and no experience is
needed.
Broadcast version
In 1998, 17 volunteers began monitoring the health of 22
streams sites in southeast Minnesota. Today, more than 400 volunteers monitor 500
stream sites across the state. The data is indispensable to the Minnesota
Pollution Control Agency.
This year, the volunteer stream monitoring program is celebrating
its 20th anniversary. Want to learn more or join this important
program? Visit www.pca.state.mn.us/cmp, or call the MPCA at 651-296-6300 or 800-657-3864.
The MPCA provides equipment and training; no prior experience is needed.
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The mission of the MPCA is to protect and improve the environment and enhance human health.
St. Paul • Brainerd • Detroit Lakes • Duluth • Mankato • Marshall • Rochester
www.pca.state.mn.us • Toll-free and TDD 800-657-3864
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