Citizen Science and Monitoring
Adopt Your Waterway
In partnership with the Friends of the Lower Olentangy Watershed and the Ohio Sierra Club Water Sentinel Program, the Ohio Water Resources Center trains citizens to monitor streams and ravines in the central Ohio area as part of a project supported by the Ohio Environmental Education Fund grant. The focus is on increasing awareness of water quality issues in urban areas and involving the public in monitoring physical, chemical and biological properties of streams in their neighborhoods.
Since the beginning of the project in the summer 2015, we have trained approximately hundred volunteers and have worked with teachers and students at two local high schools. The training includes general introduction to the watershed and water contamination (WARN program), chemical sampling kit and macroinvertebrate sampling. The sampling locations include about thirteen Olentangy river tributaries, from Ackerman Run and Glen Echo in the South to Big Run in the North. These tributaries are sampled several times a year, some of them in two location at the stream.
The Ohio WRC is proud to support environmental stewardship in the lower Olentangy watershed through the Adopt Your Waterway program and its other research and outreach initiatives.
Help to preserve and improve YOUR local stream’s water quality. Contact FLOW or email the Ohio Water Resources Center at ohiowrc@osu.edu.
CLAM Program
The Citizen Lake Awareness and Monitoring (CLAM) program, sponsored by the Ohio Lake Management Society (OLMS), provides an opportunity for Ohio citizens to take an active role in learning about aquatic ecology, lake and stream water quality, and watershed management. CLAM also documents the water conditions in Ohio and offers excellent networking for people and local environmental organizations.
The OLMS also offers many resources on their website, including Harmful Algal Blooms Informational slides, tutorial and demonstration videos, and simulations that allow for interested parties to practice monitoring efforts straight from their website.
For more information on how to get involved with the Citizen Lake Awareness and Monitoring program, contact Susan James at the OLMS.
