2021 Citizens Water Quality Monitoring – You can be a citizen scientist!

As we all breathe a sigh of relief and welcome the new year, it’s time to start gearing up for the 2021 water sampling season! Clean water is important for everyone, and citizen water quality monitoring plays a big role in extending the range that the Hamilton County SWCD and their partner environmental organizations are able to track. If any ‘red flags’ pop up as a result, we can use that information to identify the cause and implement a solution. Additionally, we can better understand where to focus our conservation efforts on a big picture level by gaining an understanding of the general health of entire rivers and streams, all thanks to our incredible volunteers!
This year’s first sampling day will be Saturday, March 13, and will continue monthly every second Saturday through November. We are looking for volunteers to collect samples, and volunteers to process samples in both the Great Miami River watershed and the Little Miami River watershed areas. Don’t worry, you don’t need to be a scientist to help! There will always be several lab leaders present to answer questions and help where needed, and we will hold a volunteer training at the start of each year. Taking pandemic safety recommendations into consideration, each testing station will be spread into separate rooms or areas, and everyone will be expected to wear a mask. Volunteer training will be in the form of videos rather than in person, and will be available in January-February. If you want to volunteer, or have questions about the best fit for you, contact Sarah Meadows, Public Involvement Coordinator at sarah.meadows@hamilton-co.org, or 513-284-8314.

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