Presented by: Hoosier Riverwatch

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Water Monitoring 101

• Presented by Hoosier Riverwatch
• With thanks to Empower Results

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Agenda

• Watersheds 101
• Water Monitoring 101
• Importance of study design and site selection
• Volunteer Monitoring
• Activity

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Watershed Intro
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What is a watershed?
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Topography is the key watershed delineator
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Watersheds Scale
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Stream Order
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River Continuum Concept

• Headwaters Streams
• heavily shaded, leaf litter is important
• shredders / collectors are abundant
• Mid-order Streams
• less shaded, algae more important
• grazers abundant
• Large Rivers
• not shaded, phytoplankton present
• collectors important

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What is the connection between land use and water
quality?
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Water quality

• Regulated through Clean Water Act (1972)
• Waters of U.S. must be fishable and swimmable
  by 1983
• Eliminate all pollution discharge to waters by
  1985

• Cuyahoga River, June 22 1969
• http//blog.cleveland.com/metro/2009/06/cuyahoga_r
  iver_fire_40_years_a.html

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There is no single definition of clean water.

• The Clean Water Act defines clean water according
  to how we use it.

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How do we use water?

• Beneficial uses
• Drinking water
• Agriculture
• Industry
• Recreation
• Fisheries and other aquatic life
• Aesthetics

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How do you know if you have clean water?

• Water quality testing targets the pollutants that
  impact different beneficial uses.

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Point Source Pollution

• 25 of pollution in the U.S.
• Direct discharge from industry, sewage treatment
  plants, etc.
• Easier to identify due to end of pipe

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Nonpoint Source Pollution

• 75 of Pollution in the US
• General runoff of water contaminated by poor land
  use, homes, streets, air, etc.
• Difficult to identify

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Why Do We Want to Improve Water Quality?

• Maintain the natural habitat for wildlife, native
  plants, and your community
• Support designated uses of waterbody
• Fishable
• Swimmable
• Protect and maintain cultural significance
• Protect drinking water (public health)
• Esthetically pleasing

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What Measures are Part ofWater Quality
Evaluations?
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Chemical Assessment

• Dissolved Oxygen
• E. coli and general coliforms
• pH
• Biochemical Oxygen Demand 5-day
• Water Temperature Change
• Phosphates
• Nitrates and Nitrites
• Turbidity/Transparency

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Gulf of Mexicos dead zone
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Physical Assessment Lets talk habitat

• Some critters arent suited for certain
  situations and know when to get out!

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Citizens QualitativeHabitat Evaluation Index

• The following all contribute to habitat and
  combine to give a final score
• Substrate
• Fish Cover
• Stream shape and human alterations
• Riparian area and local land use
• Depth/Velocity
• Riffles/Runs

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Habitat Evaluations
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The Role of Flow

• Helps provide clues to interpret water quality
  data
• Channelization
• Amount of impervious surfaces
• Affect on pollutant loads erosion
• If pollutant increases in high flow, then guess
  NPS because concentration increases with runoff
• If pollutant decreases with high flow, then guess
  PS because it is being diluted

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Biological AssessmentBenthic Macroinvertebrates
Why do we monitor them?

• Chemistry just a snapshot in time
• Macroinvertebrates
• Not very mobile
• Spend extended period in the water
• Have different levels of tolerance to pollution
• Macroinvertebrates provide idea of water quality
  over extended period of time

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5 Ws of Water Quality Monitoring
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5 Ws

• Why
• What
• Where
• When
• Who

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Why We Monitor

• Identify pollutants and sources
• Establish baseline data
• Document changes and trends
• Measure effectiveness
• Inform stakeholders
• Assess use attainment
• Provide information and data to support modeling
• Characterize watershed

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Monitoring Challenges

• Failure to evaluate data regularly
• Lack of collateral information
• Poor institutional integration
• No planned study design

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Watershed Inventory

• Research
• Maps and Aerial Photos
• Reports Surveys
• Field Inventory
• What are the Land Uses?
• In-stream Conditions
• Color
• Odor
• Appearance

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What We Monitor

• Determine sampling goals/objectives
• Environmental
• Community
• Educational
• What chemical and/or field samples are taken
  depends on objective and budget
• If interested in algae blooms sample for
  nutrients and collect representative algae
  samples for id

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Where To Monitor?

• Based on sampling goals/objectives
• Upstream / downstream
• At bottom of watershed
• Multiple sites
• Physical location
• distance/convenience and access/property rights
• Safety
• roadside parking, rocky inclines, high flow
  conditions, bacteria consideration
• Best habitat available
• should be characteristic of stream reach, yet
  should aim to level the playing field between
  sites

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When To Monitor

• Based on sampling goals/objectives
• Before and After
• Monitoring before and after a large rain
• Useful for determining types of pollutants washed
  into stream after rain and reveal changes that
  occurs as result of new land use
• Change Over Time
• Monitoring the same site twice each year for
  period of 5 years
• Useful in identifying trends and picking up
  unusual situations

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Who Monitors (Other data sources)

• Federal Agencies
• EPA
• USGS
• Forest Service
• NOAA
• Fish and Wildlife
• States
• IDEM
• DNR
• Health Department
• Drinking Water Agencies

• Universities
• Counties
• Municipalities
• Tribes
• Regulated Communities
• Advocacy Organization
• Nature Conservancy
• Sporting Organizations
• Watershed Organizations
• Schools, 4-H

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Upper White River Watershed
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Why Work With Volunteer Monitors

• Source of credible data
• More comprehensive data
• Greater monitoring frequency
• Larger of sites monitored
• Local knowledge
• Enhances local stewardship
• Gain support for your efforts
• Cost effective (not cost free)

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Characteristics of Successful Volunteer
Monitoring Programs

• Well-organized
• Sound scientific basis
• Report results
• Strong institutional support
• Make a difference

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Quality Assurance/Quality Control

• Quality Assurance is a broad plan for maintaining
  quality in all aspects of a program
• Quality Control methods are established to
  control errors
• Follow protocol
• Repeated Measurements

Modified from a presentation given by Linda
Green, Rhode Island Watershed Watch
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Activity
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X

• Place x on high and low points
• Place arrow pointing in direction of flow
• Mark waterfall
• Label
• Headwater
• Confluence
• Midriver
• Falls
• Downriver

HW
CON
MR
FALLS
DR
X
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Look at your site
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Groups

• Headwaters
• Confluence
• Midriver
• Falls
• Downriver

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Headwaters
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Headwaters
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Groups

• Seasons
• January Blue
• April Green
• July Yellow
• October - Orange

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January
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January
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Summary
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Upcoming Workshops

• www.dnr.in.gov/nrec
• Healthy Water Healthy People
• March 4, Ft. Harrison SP Indianapolis, IN
• Hoosier Riverwatch
• April 9, Indianapolis and South Bend
• April 16, Jasper and Lake County
• April 23, Gene Stratton Porter
• April 30, Lake County

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Take home thoughts

• Everything is connected
• Use long-term thinking
• Look for the big picture and relationships
• Focus on object observations, not on blame
• Consider how pre-existing and popular opinions
  inform decisions
• Gather all the data that you can

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Questions?