Creating Credible Community-based Stream Monitoring Programs · 2019-03-04 · Chesapeake...
Transcript of Creating Credible Community-based Stream Monitoring Programs · 2019-03-04 · Chesapeake...
Creating Credible Community-based Stream Monitoring
Programs
Julie VastineSeptember 26, 2018
Overview
• ALLARM introduction• US Stream Monitoring History
• Credibility ingredients• Regional partnership example• Monitoring mantras
• Q&A
ALLARM Introduction
ALLARM educates communities to use science as a tool to investigate the
health of their streams and to use the data they generate for aquatic
protection and restoration efforts.
www.dickinson.edu/allarm
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6d/Pennsylvania_in_United_States.svg/1024px-Pennsylvania_in_United_States.svg.png
US Volunteer Monitoring
• Oldest program 1968• 48 out of 50 states have active programs• Challenge: Each state has a different
approach
Clean Water Act (1987 addition):“assemble and evaluate all existing and readily available water quality-related data and information.” Including data “for which water quality problems have been reported by local, state, or federal agencies; members of the public; or academic institutions.”
Power of Volunteers
• Local connection, buy-in, impact• Local expertise• More boots on the ground • Local eyes, ears, voices of waterways
http://volunteermonitoring.org/
Ingredients in Credible Programs
1. Study design2. Quality Assurance Project
Plan (QAPP)3. Monitoring methods
manual (Standard Operating Procedures, SOPs);
4. Volunteer engagement –recruit, train, certify, and retain
5. Evaluation and assessment
Volunteer Training and Certification
Quality Assurance Project Plan
Volunteer Recruitment and
Retention
Study DesignMonitoring Methods Manual
Evaluation and Assessment
Role of equipment testing, etc…
• Check out the National Water Quality Monitoring Council’s Webinar from January 2018.
• https://acwi.gov/monitoring/webinars/index.html
Matching appropriate data with policy goals
Water monitoring one of the key examples
www.wilsoncenter.org/sites/default/files/clearing_the_path_eli_report.pdf
Monitoring Best Practices: Study Design
Concern or Question Technical Assistance - Study Design/QAPP/Training
Data collection & quality verification
Data Use Data interpretationProgram evaluation
Study Design Tools
https://www.rivernetwork.org/resource/river-monitoring-study-design-workbook/
www.Dickinson.edu/allarm
Tools – EPA VolMon QAPP
For more information, see: The Volunteer Monitor’s Guide to Quality Assurance Project Plans.
EPA 841-B-96-003. September 1996. https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-06/documents/vol_qapp.pdf
Regional Example
• Chesapeake Bay Watershed• 64,000 mi2 or 103,000 km2
• 6 States (Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York, Virginia, West Virginia) & Washington DC
Chesapeake Monitoring CooperativeA partnership that aims to provide technical, logistical, and outreach support for the integration of volunteer-based and nontraditional water quality and benthic macroinvertebrate monitoring data into the Chesapeake Bay Program (CBP) partnership.
Cooperative AgreementCMC development team partners & service providers
Participating Jurisdictions
USEPA Grant #CB96334901
Chesapeake Bay Program Monitoring
Sites
Community Survey
Sent to 600+ entities:• General Information• Monitoring Program Overview
(Where? Why?)• Monitoring Program Design
(How?)• Data Use and Storage
~ 120 groups responded
Chesapeake Bay Program Monitoring
Sites + Volunteer &
Nontraditional monitoring
sites
CMC Tiered Framework – Data Use Suggestions
Integrated tools - QAPPs
Connect QAPP to Standard Operating Procedures
Connect SOPs to Database & Metadata
Example: Otsego County Conservation AssociationMonitoring Goals• Establish a baseline understanding of six
watersheds in Otsego County• Engage community members in monitoring• Identify sites for potential BMPs and
restoration• Use data locally and support CBP data needs
TIERS Methodology
1 Macroinvertebrates
Nitrate-Nitrogen, Orthophosphate, pH, WaterClarity
2 Conductivity, Dissolved Oxygen, Water Temperature
Monitoring Mantras
• All data of known quality have use
• Must match intended use with quality of data collected
Thank you! Questions?
Alliance for Aquatic Resource Monitoring (ALLARM)dickinson.edu/ALLARM | @ALLARMwaterJulie Vastine | [email protected]