You didn’t miss World Water Monitoring Day, because it actually lasts until December 31

By Emily Miller

Sunday, September 18^th (yesterday) was the official celebration of World Water Monitoring Day (WWMD), but you have until December 31 to participate (as well as next year and on into the future). WWMD is an international education and outreach program building public awareness and involvement in protecting water resources around the world, helps citizens conduct basic monitoring of their local water bodies. Everyone can engage in local water quality management, supplied with an easy-to-use test kit capable of testing a core set of water quality parameters. Results are then shared with participating communities around the globe to offer insight and understanding to international water quality.

While September 18^th marks the official recognition of its advocacy efforts, the monitoring data is collected from March 22^nd through December 31^st of each year (meaning you still have time to participate) and compiled into an executive report. In 2010, a total of 212,502 participants monitored sites worldwide, a 73% increase over 2009. Groups and individuals from 85 countries reported WWMD data from a large number of sites; the U.S. contributed data from 2,931 sites, the largest number in the world, followed by Spain (1,485) and Romania (301). Throughout 2010, 15,564 WWMD tests kits were distributed internationally. The program saw a great increase in participation in 2010, hopefully something that will be repeated in 2011 and beyond.  Iowa led the way in terms of reporting by U.S. states (the executive report did not give comprehensive rankings for which states participated most, so it’s not clear where Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin ranked, except that Iowa has us all beat).

Getting involved in World Water Monitoring day is easy!

1. Register your site. Choose any lake, stream, bay, or other body of water where you can collect data.
2. Prepare your monitoring equipment. Use your own equipment or purchase a Test Kit, with an informative instruction book and enough supplies to repeat up to fifty tests.
3. Monitor the site. Visit your site before December 31^st and test the water.
4. Report you data. Just log in to your account. The results will be included in that year’s annual WWMD Year in Review report.

WWMD focuses on not only on the importance of water quality, but also the community’s involvement in protecting water sheds. This advocacy mission, paired with the easy-to-use test kits, opportunity for field experience and a chance to get outdoors, and a possible lesson-plan in chemistry make the program very popular with teachers and students. Teachers and students use the test kits to examine key water quality parameters: temperature, dissolved oxygen, turbidity, and pH levels. The U.S. Geological Survey’s Water Science for Schools, a sponsor of WWMD, offers simple explanation of the tested parameters.

1. Temperature. Water temperature is important to swimmers, fisherman, industries, fish, and algae alike. Power plants generating electricity use a lot of water for cooling purposes; after taking in cooler water, they generally release warmer water back to the environment. This affects downstream habitats, the ability of water to hold oxygen, and the ability of organisms to resist certain pollutants.
2. Dissolved Oxygen. Oxygen dissolved in bodies of water is crucial for an organism’s survival. Fish and zooplankton breathe the small amount of oxygen dissolved in the water. If the amount of dissolved oxygen drops below normal levels, creatures begin to die off. Even a whole body of water can die, if eutrophication occurs.
3. Turbidity. Turbidity is the amount of particulate matter suspended in water and makes it cloudy or opaque. Unusually high turbidity can signal construction runoff or pollution, caused by clay, silt, and other organic and inorganic matter.
4. 4.       pH Levels. pH is a measure of how acidic or basic the water is. The range goes from 0-14, with 7 being neutral, less than 7 acidic, and higher that 7 basic. pH is affected by chemicals — changing pH in water can signal pollution, harming animals and plants. For example, water coming out of a coal mine can have a pH of 2. The very acidic water would harm the organisms in the ecosystem.

The acceptable level of any of the above parameters depends on the designated use of the water. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency limits the amounts of certain contaminants in tap water and the Safe Drinking Water Act authorizes the EPA to issue standards for drinking water. Environmental water quality relates to water quality standards for lakes, rivers, and oceans. Water quality standards for surface waters vary significantly due to different environmental conditions, ecosystems, and intended human uses. The test-kit data can be used to check the levels of the tested body of water against the standards set depending on the water’s intended use as well as help establish data for the WWMD’s annual report on water quality.

With continued population growth, urban expansion, and rural development, we are putting great stress on the natural water resources. Diligent monitoring will help ensure the quality of our waters does not suffer. Hopefully 2011 will see another increase in participation in the World Water Monitoring Day!