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In the NewsCitizens Get Opportunity to Test Water Quality
date posted: May 2 2003
Each spring, the Lake Tahoe Environmental Education Coalition (LTEEC) hosts a fun half-day event for families and volunteers to monitor the water quality of streams flowing into Lake Tahoe. Volunteer team leaders are trained in methods of collecting good water samples, and these leaders then take small groups of citizens to particular streams near the lakeshore. Most volunteers are fascinated to learn about water testing, and virtually all find it fun to work in a friendly group at a beautiful site on one of Tahoe’s spectacular streams.
This annual event is called Snapshot Day, and it is sponsored by the Tahoe-Truckee Clean Water Team of the Lake Tahoe Environmental Education Coalition. This year’s event is at 9 a.m., on May 10. It is designed to get community volunteers involved in studying the water moving through the Lake Tahoe and Truckee River watersheds. Water samples are taken in order to develop a picture or “snapshot” of water quality and watershed health at a single point in time. The volunteer monitoring teams will test streams for dissolved oxygen, conductivity, pH and temperature. They will also conduct a visual assessment, collect field data, and take water samples and photos. Water samples will be taken back to central meeting locations and measured for sediment particle size, turbidity, nutrients and fecal coliform bacteria. Sponsoring agencies will provide all the sampling and monitoring equipment.
In addition, each annual Snapshot Day has a particular focus, and this year’s focus is gathering sediment samples from the mouths of all 63 Tahoe tributaries. These sediment samples will help provide data for the Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) study that is being conducted by the Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board to help determine various nutrient thresholds.
In addition to the Lake Tahoe event, Truckee volunteers will be collecting baseline data for all tributaries leading to the Truckee River. Volunteers in Reno will be collecting data for streams that have not previously been sampled. This will allow us to better assess the water quality of the larger Truckee River watershed.
The goals of Snapshot Day are to stimulate citizen interest and participation in local water quality issues, to provide baseline data that may identify sites needing watershed restoration, to monitor the success of Environmental Improvement Program projects, and to add to ongoing large-scale collaborative efforts to prevent further degradation of water quality.
Volunteers can elect to participate as either team leaders or team members. Team leaders must attend one of the team leader trainings listed below. All volunteers should contact the appropriate volunteer coordinator. Or, for more information, contact Heather Segale, LTEEC Coordinator, at University of Nevada Cooperative Extension, (775) 832-4138.
Team Leader Trainings:
· South Shore – Lake Tahoe Community College, 2 p.m., April 26; and 4 p.m., April 29. Contact Heather Kuykendall, (530) 542-5560, Ext. 325.
· Reno – Washoe-Storey Conservation District Office in Reno, 4 p.m., April 29. Contact Jenny Francis, (775) 322-9934, Ext. 3.
· Truckee – Sagehen Field Station, approximately 10 miles north of Truckee, 4 p.m., April 30. Contact Beth Christman, (530) 550-8760.
· North Shore – Sierra Nevada College, in Incline Village, 4 p.m., May 1. Contact Melissa Blake, (775) 588-4547, Ext. 208.
On Snapshot Day, Saturday, May 10, all volunteers will meet at the training locations at 9 a.m. to pick up sampling supplies. Refreshments will be provided.
Event sponsors include California State Water Resource Control Board, Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board, Lake Tahoe Community College, Lake Tahoe Environmental Education Coalition (LTEEC), Nevada Division of Environmental Protection, Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe, Sierra Nevada College, Tahoe Basin AmeriCorps, Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, Tahoe Research Group, Tahoe Resource Conservation District, Truckee River Watershed Council, University of California Cooperative Extension, University of Nevada Cooperative Extension, University of Nevada Reno Electrical Engineering Department, USDA Forest Service, Washoe Storey Conservation District and Waste Not – Incline Village General Improvement District.
Watch for “The Lake Tahoe Report” on KOLO-TV News Channel 8 Tuesdays at 5 p.m. to learn more. Next week learn about near-shore water quality and research being conducted by the Desert Research Institute. “The Lake Tahoe Report” is a collaborative effort of the Lake Tahoe Environmental Education Coalition, University of Nevada Cooperative Extension, UC Davis and the USDA Forest Service. For more information, contact Heather Segale, University of Nevada Cooperative Extension, (775) 832-4138, or logon to www.lteec.org or www.unce.unr.edu.
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