Stream Monitoring

Volunteers with the Citizen Science Center monitor streams throughout west central Wisconsin through the statewide Water Action Volunteers program. We currently work with volunteers from Rusk, Dunn, Chippewa, Eau Claire, and Clark counties. Water Action Volunteer stream monitors participate in a 1/2 day training in the spring, typically April or May, and learn how to monitor streams for temperature, dissolved oxygen, aquatic macroinvertebrates, water clarity, and stream flow and also how to conduct a habitat assessment. They then monitor a stream of their choice once a month from May through September. Volunteers start in the program at Level 1 and then have the option of moving to Level 2 or 3 stream monitoring after they successfully complete one year of monitoring.