Volunteer Stream Monitoring - Volunteer Monitoring - Monitoring - Water Resources - Public Works

Macroinvertebrates collected from streams help county scientist determine stream health.

The heart of Clark County's volunteer monitoring program is our stream monitoring. This program began in 2002 and involves about 50 volunteers in six teams.

Volunteers, with their teams, adopt a stream to monitor. Teams go out a minimum of four times a year, although they can go out more frequently than that. Each team monitors at an established stream reach in order to collect data describing stream conditions and to detect changes over time in their particular watershed.

Over the course of the year, teams test indicators of stream health including water chemistry, aquatic invertebrate populations, and physical habitat.

Volunteers enter data onto customized field sheets that are stored at Clark County Public Works, Water Resources Department. The data is then entered into a relational database, along with the data from other Clean Water Program projects, and is used by resource managers.

Volunteers can also develop their own projects on a stream of their own choosing. We hope that volunteers use the skills that we teach them to monitor streams in their own neighborhoods (or even on their own property).

To find out more about stream monitoring or if you would like to use the monitoring equipment on your own project, contact:
Monitoring Staff

Current Volunteer Stream Sampling Sites

link to current volunteer monitoring sites

Gee Creek at Abrams Park monitored by the Kingfisher Team
Brezee Creek at La Center Bottoms monitored by the Osprey Team
Mill Creek on the Washington State University campus monitored by the Sculpin Team
Gibbons Creek in Washougal at Jemtegaard Middle School monitored by the Coho Team
Gibbons Creek special project - bacterial monitoring at seven locations along the creek by the Caddisfly Team
Vancouver Lake monitoring by the Dragonfly Team (May-October only)

Click map to enlarge

All monitoring procedures for the program are outlined for volunteers in the Clark County Stream and River Monitoring Manual (PDF - 1128K)

The Volunteer Program Quality Assurance Project Plan (QAPP) (PDF - 1128K), approved by the Washington Department of Ecology, describes the monitoring goals and objectives, schedule, design, methods, and quality control requirements, all of which help make sure the project collects useful data.

Volunteer reports and summaries

For more information on Volunteer Monitoring:

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