Monitoring a local river

A comprehensive database about volunteer-based water monitoring organizations in the Chesapeake Bay watershed has long been needed. Currently, there is limited coordination of monitoring information, especially when rivers and streams cross state and county boundaries. This lack of communication among the monitoring groups and the agencies and organizations that support them, whether local, state, or federal, often results in duplicative monitoring or in organizations “reinventing the wheel” with project approaches, techniques, training programs, handbooks, etc. This clearinghouse hopes to prevent this duplicity, making it easier for interested parties to be aware of the data that is collected as well as information about how that data is collected. Additionally, gaps in insufficient monitoring may be identified and areas prioritized.

This clearinghouse of volunteer-based water monitoring organizations includes the following information:

• contact information for volunteer water monitoring organizations
• types of monitoring data and paramters collected
• brief description of monitoring program
• how to obtain access to data (including data access from Internet; if service is available)
• data quality assurance/quality information

The emphasis is on volunteer-based or nongovernmental water-monitoring programs and not on programs coordinated and performed entirely by an agency, municipality, university/college, or industry. This doesn't mean that volunteer-based monitoring programs are never associated with an agency, municipality, college/university or industry and there can oftentimes be some overlap. For instance, Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) coordinates a volunteer-based biological monitoring program called Stream Waders. As another example, the Northern Virginia Soil and Water Conservation District coordinates a volunteer-based monitoring program, the Fairfax Volunteer Stream Monitoring Program. If in doubt, complete the survey or contact the Alliance's Citizen Monitoring Program Coordinator.

• Search the Clearinghouse Database
• Enter/Edit a Water Quality Monitoring Program