Water Monitoring Project

The Friends of the Platte River Inc. recently trained six local families in water monitoring parameters as the first step in the implementation of a water monitoring program in the Platte River watershed. The families are affiliated with the Tri-State Homeschool Association. The families met in Memorial Park in Platteville in September 2010 to learn about becoming a Water Action Volunteer (WAV). The WAV training was performed by Kris Stepenuck, the volunteer stream monitoring coordinator, and Peggy Compton, the UW-Extension basin coordinator. The WAV training focused on 6 parameters that are used to establish the health of a river: temperature, turbidity, biotic index, habitat, stream flow, and dissolved oxygen. This was a hands-on learning opportunity where members of each family found themselves in the stream collecting water samples and testing for dissolved oxygen, filling up a tube with water and checking for water clarity, and scooping up macroinvertebrates and identifying the critters they found.

Besides learning how to collect the necessary data, the families were instructed on the implication of each parameter as an indication of stream health.

• Temperature is an important indicator of overall aquatic health. Warmer water tends to hold less oxygen than colder water and can cause higher plant growth and increase metabolic rates for organisms. Temperature fluctuation can make fish and insects more susceptible to environmental disturbances.  In addition certain fish require a specific temperature range in order to survive in a particular stream.
• Turbidity measures the transparency of water in a stream. Changes in clarity especially after a rain event can indicate runoff from construction sites, fields or other sources.
• Biotic Index is used to determine the presence or absence of certain macroinvertebrates in the stream. Macroinvertebrates are small animals without backbones and different types respond differently to differing physical, chemical and biological stream conditions. The types of macroinvertebrates found can indicate the level of pollution in the steam segment.
• Habitat Assessment measures the overall conditions of the land adjacent to the stream. The land use will affect the water quality and the habitat.
• Stream Flow indicates the amount of water moving through the stream during a set period of time. Stream flow will affect the stream habitat as well as the types of organisms and plants that can grow in the stream.
• Dissolved Oxygen in the water is a requirement for the survival of both plants and animals and is influenced by temperature, turbidity, wave action and by both living and decaying plants in the stream.

Together, these indicators give a good picture of the health of the stream. The collection of such data can help decision-makers quantify stream quality and will assist in the determination of areas of the watershed in need of further action. The monitoring program also helps watershed residents learn more about the waters of the Platte River and how our behaviors can affect water quality.

The families were loaned supplies from the water education library and each family will monitor a stream segment in the Platte River watershed monthly over the coming year. For more information on becoming a Water Action Volunteer or for learning more about the process you can visit http://clean-water.uwex.edu/wav/.