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Willamette Riverkeeper’s volunteer monitoring program has been growing strong for the past three years. We now have 38 sites extending from Portland to Eugene with over 75 volunteers. Our volunteers’ valuable efforts provide quality data and build stewardship to our local waters.
Currently the sampling plan emphasizes watershed scale monitoring because the water quality of the Willamette is a reflection of the activities in the surrounding lands and waters. Therefore our monitoring sites are located on the mainstem and on the major tributaries. Water quality is monitored at 38 different sites by ~75 volunteers throughout the Willamette Valley. Volunteers make visual observations and measure chemical characteristics of waters. Between the 10th and 20th every month, each site is tested for dissolved oxygen, pH, conductivity, temperature, and turbidity. An additional 7 sites are monitored twice a month for fecal coliform bacteria (E.coli) in the Portland Area.
Our program is associated with the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) Volunteer Monitoring Program. The state’s program provides support including, equipment use, data management and analysis. In return volunteers provide WRK and DEQ with quality data. This is ensured with a strong quality assurance project plan (QAPP), which directs how volunteers are trained, and how samples are collected and analyzed. The DEQ can use volunteer data for watershed assessments and reporting, determining if the states waters meet water quality standards, 303(d) list development, and TMDL documentation or development. |
