Have you ever wondered how clean your local streams are? Just like you need clean air to breathe, aquatic ecosystems need clean water to function. Throughout the country there are numerous watersheds, which are areas of land containing a set of streams and/or rivers that all drain through a specific location. Healthy watersheds are important because they improve water quality, allow for indigenous species to out-compete invasive species, are better adapted to extreme weather patterns, and reduce drinking water treatment costs. During this workshop you will learn how to monitor the health of stream systems using bacterial, chemical, and macroinvertebrate indicators. Participants will walk to a nearby creek to collect samples for bacterial and chemical monitoring. Due to the depth of the stream, macroinvertebrate sampling will be demonstrated in the laboratory. After learning how to interpret the data from the local stream, workshop participants will be lead through a case study created using data from a stream in Athens, Georgia that was damaged by runoff from a chemical fire. They will evaluate data that was gathered by citizen scientists before and after the chemical fire and learn about the events impact on water quality. Participants will also compare water quality parameters between an impacted and relatively pristine stream. Participants will gain the knowledge needed to set-up a monitoring site close to their home campus that will allow their students to participate in water quality monitoring.
Keywords: Stream Water Quality, Bacterial Testing, Chemical Testing, Macroinvertebrate Testing, Watershed
University of Manitoba (2025)
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