Program of the Month
Participants at a water monitoring outreach event take a look at animals, called benthic macroinvertebrates, that live and feed at the bottom of waterways.
Monitoring volunteers take samples of benthic macroinvertebrates. Image courtesy of the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation.
Citizen monitoring of water quality in Virginia
More than 150 citizen groups volunteer their time to test the quality of Virginia’s streams, rivers and lakes. These groups submit monitoring information to the Department of Environmental Quality in support of the agency’s goal of improving water quality in Virginia.
“Volunteers help us identify sites that show problems,” said James Beckley, water quality data liaison for DEQ’s Citizen Water Quality Monitoring Program. “They are a very valuable resource.”
Approximately 800 people participate in these groups, which range in size from just a few people to several dozen. Typically DEQ receives information on 400 to 500 sites per year.
Citizens can nominate portions of streams, rivers and lakes for DEQ to consider adding to the agency’s water quality monitoring locations. Samples collected during monitoring by DEQ are sent to a lab for analysis, and results are included in Virginia’s Water Quality Assessment Report. DEQ submits this report on the quality of Virginia’s waters to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency every two years.
Starting with the 2002 assessment report, citizen groups submitted data to help identify areas that may need follow-up monitoring by DEQ in future years. Through the help of DEQ, citizen groups began to collect data using methods similar to DEQ methods, starting with the 2004 report. This is allowing citizen data submitted to DEQ to be used in the same way as if DEQ sampled at same the location.
For DEQ to use citizen monitoring data in the assessment report, the citizen groups must use DEQ-approved protocols and have a quality assurance project plan. In addition, laboratories that analyze the data for the groups must pass a quality assurance inspection.
“Now we have about 10 groups whose data is fully approved by DEQ. There will be no restrictions on using their data for the water quality assessment report,” Beckley said. “By the 2008 report, we hope to expand that to at least 20 groups.”
Most groups measure variables such as the pH and temperature of the water about once a month. Some groups also sample for animals, called benthic macroinvertebrates, that live and feed at the bottom of waterways. Benthic macroinvertebrates include insects like mayflies and other animals such as mussels, crayfish and worms. These animals are good indicators for long-term conditions because they live in one area of a stream for most of their lives.
DEQ also provides technical assistance to citizen monitoring groups, helps develop monitoring plans that will help ensure accurate and reliable results, and participates in workshops and conferences, such as the Citizens for Water Quality summit, held around the state.
The Citizens for Water Quality summit is a statewide conference held for monitoring groups, businesses and citizens interested in the quality of Virginia’s waters. The annual conference was held in Charlottesville on July 23, 2005. DEQ donated 15 dissolved oxygen test kits and other monitoring equipment worth over $2,000 to citizen monitors who attended the conference. This donation of equipment is the result of a partnership between DEQ and the Lake Anna Civic Association citizen monitoring group.
Beckley announced the next round of grants to support the citizen monitoring groups at the conference. DEQ is offering $60,000 worth of competitive grants for 2006. An additional $46,000 will be awarded in non-competitive grants this year. This is the sixth year that grants have been available since the program began in 1998.
With these grants, “we’re hoping to support about 20 groups,” Beckley said.
Citizen monitoring groups are active throughout the state, but most groups are in Northern Virginia, Hampton Roads and the Shenandoah Valley.
“We want to improve the geographic coverage of the citizen monitoring sites,” Beckley said.
To support this effort, DEQ is helping to develop a Geographic Information System database in partnership with the Virginia Water Monitoring Council. Citizens, government representatives and private industries participate on the council. The council’s goal is to be an open forum for anyone who may be interested in water quality.
The database and a web-based map will provide information on sample locations, contact information and other general information about citizen monitoring groups in Virginia. This information can be used by the public and the council to help target specific areas of Virginia that are currently not covered by citizen monitoring groups.
With several other projects in the works to promote and support water quality monitoring activities, the agency hopes that more waters will be monitored and the resulting data will be useful for Virginia’s assessment report.
“The primary goal of the program is to expand knowledge about the water quality in Virginia’s watersheds, and we see this can be met with the help of citizen monitoring data,” Beckley said.
More information on DEQ’s involvement with citizen monitoring groups is available on the DEQ web site.