Stream Team
A Citizen Volunteer Water Quality Monitoring Program
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The Skagit Stream Team is a network of citizens concerned about the health of local streams. They are trained to work in teams to collect water quality data on stream reaches located in our priority watersheds: Nookachamps Creek Watershed; Padilla Bay Watershed; and Samish Watershed, as well as sampling stormwater runoff in the cities of Anacortes, Burlington and Mount Vernon. Each team tests for temperature, fecal coliform, turbidity, depth, and dissolved oxygen and averages around 4-6 hours per month.
SPONSORED BY: Skagit Conservation District, Padilla Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, City of Anacortes, City of Burlington, City of Mount Vernon, and Skagit County
Key Roles:
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Stream Team Field Monitors: Responsible for collecting and recording water quality data at assigned stream reaches on a monthly basis. Please note that this position may require walking on rocky, steep, and/or uneven terrain.
Stream Team Lab Managers: Trained to conduct fecal coliform and turbidity tests at the Padilla Bay Research Reserve lab facility.
Data Managers: Maintains monitoring and lab data, while generating graphs and charts for the year end monitoring report.
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All Stream Team Volunteers learn new skills, gain new insights, network with local experts, meet new friends, and participate in a worthwhile community program.
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Stream Team Volunteers have access to a manual, equipment, supplies, and FREE TRAINING. Volunteers are covered by L&I Insurance.
Goals of the Skagit Stream Team Program:
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To inspire community stewardship in regards to water quality and to teach community volunteers the sampling and analytical techniques used by professionals and the importance of establishing a long-term water quality monitoring program;
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To develop and implement a routine sampling program that can be used to assess water quality trends, and to characterize existing conditions; and
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To document improvements in water quality as a result of the implementation of Best Management Practices (BMP’s) on farmlands and the repair and/or replacement of failing septic systems.
