We are currently seeking introductory volunteers for our Water Quality Monitoring Program to assess river and stream health in the Milwaukee River Basin.

Financial and staffing shortages have made it increasingly more difficult for the WDNR to monitor Wisconsin’s 84,474 miles of streams. Thus the WDNR has become receptive to the idea of Milwaukee Riverkeeper training citizens to be monitors.

The qualifications to participate are not restrictive but are important. No science background is necessary, but volunteers must be dedicated, meticulous, and physically able to walk in and along the river to access monitoring sites. Additionally volunteers are responsible to collect data on a monthly basis during the spring and summer and report the data to an online database.

Milwaukee Riverkeeper trains volunteers in this program and loans them the equipment they need to monitor a designated area within the Milwaukee River Watershed. The volunteers do a habitat assessment and collect data on the stream flow, water temperature, clarity, and dissolved oxygen levels of the water in their stretch of the river. Citizens can monitor at one of two levels.

Level I volunteers need no previous experience, they receive basic training and their data is primarily used for educational purposes. This year their training will be at Riveredge Nature Center on Saturday May 22, 2010 from 10:00 am - 3:00 pm.

If you are interested in attending this training or would like more information on Water Quality Monitoring contact Joe Rath at [email protected] or by calling 414-287-0207 x234.