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Oklahoma Water Watch
Oklahoma Water Watch (OWW), created in 1992, is a volunteer water
monitoring and educational program that encourages local efforts to
protect and maintain the quality of rivers and lakes throughout Oklahoma.
OWW Participants
OWW Goals
Becoming a Volunteer
OWW Volunteer Training
Collecting and Utilizing Data
Quality Assurance
OWW Participants
Coordinated by the Water Resources Board, Oklahoma
Water Watch serves as a valuable educational tool, providing participants
with first-hand involvement in the protection of community water quality.
Since the program's initiation, OWW has had more than 500 certified
volunteers, including 12 teachers (from three universities and nine
public schools) who oversee hundreds of student volunteers. There are
currently twenty five OWW chapters throughout the state and more than
100 citizen volunteers who submit data for approximately 80 sites each
year with an average annual total of roughly 550 reported monitoring
events. OWW volunteers come from all age groups. In addition to students,
volunteers include individuals who want to maintain the quality of their
local water resources, such as members of lake associations and other
civic groups.
OWW Goals
The five primary goals of the OWW are
to 1) collect environmental data to determine baseline water quality
conditions for Oklahoma's
water resources, 2) identify current or potential water quality
problems, 3) determine water quality trends, 4) promote citizen
participation
in protecting, managing, and restoring our water resources, and
5) educate the public on basic ecological concepts associated with
our
water resources.
Becoming a Volunteer
Limited resources, quality assurance, and data management make it
essential for monitors to serve as long as possible, so the OWW requires
a minimum commitment of two years. If you are interested in becoming
a volunteer monitor, send your name, mailing address, and daytime
telephone number to the following address: Oklahoma Water Watch, Attn:
OWW Training Coordinator, 3800 N. Classen Blvd., Oklahoma City, OK
73118.
OWW Volunteer Training
Prior to becoming Certified Water Quality Monitors, OWW volunteers
complete a three-phase training session. The first level of training
introduces the concepts of water and air temperature, water color, water
transparency, pH, dissolved oxygen, and nutrients, as well as procedures
for handling equipment, measuring parameters, and data recording. The
next level involves water quality testing. The final phase occurs in
a sampling area, where participants take field measurements and record
scientific observations.
Collecting and Utilizing Data
Once OWW volunteers have chosen an OWRB-approved
monitoring site, they are asked to collect data a minimum of six times
each year, preferably monthly from April through September. All the
necessary chemicals and testing equipment are provided by the OWRB in
a convenient testing kit. At the conclusion of each sampling season,
OWRB staff analyze the collected data and distribute a summary report
to the volunteers. OWW follows a Quality Assurance Project Plan approved
by the EPA, which outlines data collection techniques, frequency, and
the quality assurance/quality control measures volunteer monitors use.
OWW data provide supplemental information to the OWRB’s professionally
collected data, and are included in the yearly Beneficial
Use Monitoring Program (BUMP) report. Consistent, quality, long-term
data can provide an important historical perspective and aid in identifying
trends in a water body. All OWW information is included in periodic
reports to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Volunteers are required to attend at least one Quality
Control Assessment (QCA) session per year to retain their certification
as OWW monitors. QCA sessions take place twice each sampling year
under the supervision of the QCA officer. Successful completion of
QCA sessions validate volunteer-collected data by accounting for accuracy,
precision, and usability of all data.
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