{"id":67932,"date":"2007-03-08T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2007-03-08T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news-draft\/uncategorized\/uri-watershed-watch-celebrates-20th-season-seeks-volunteers-to-monitor-lakes-ponds-streams\/"},"modified":"2007-03-08T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2007-03-08T00:00:00","slug":"uri-watershed-watch-celebrates-20th-season-seeks-volunteers-to-monitor-lakes-ponds-streams","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/2007\/03\/uri-watershed-watch-celebrates-20th-season-seeks-volunteers-to-monitor-lakes-ponds-streams\/","title":{"rendered":"溏心vlog免费B站 Watershed Watch celebrates 20th season; seeks volunteers to monitor lakes, ponds, streams"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n\t\tIncreasing temperatures cause drop in Rhode Island water quality<\/p>\n


\n\tKINGSTON, R.I. \u00ef\u00bf\u00bd March 8, 2007 \u00ef\u00bf\u00bd Water quality in Rhode Island\u00ef\u00bf\u00bds lakes, ponds, streams and estuaries was affected negatively in the last two years by increasing temperatures and more intense rainstorms, according to data from the 溏心vlog免费B站\u00ef\u00bf\u00bds Watershed Watch program.<\/p>\n


\n\tTemperatures in some lakes around the state reached 86 degrees at times in 2005 and 2006, which is high enough to reduce dissolved oxygen levels and stress organisms living in the water. The mild fall and winter increased the growing season for algae, which also reduces oxygen levels when they die. And increasingly severe rainstorms caused additional run-off from roadways and lawns to enter water bodies, further degrading their water quality and reducing groundwater recharge.<\/p>\n


\n\t\u00ef\u00bf\u00bdWe can\u00ef\u00bf\u00bdt be sure that this is direct evidence of global warming, but it certainly falls in line with global weather trends,\u00ef\u00bf\u00bd said Elizabeth Herron, Watershed Watch program coordinator. \u00ef\u00bf\u00bdAnd it\u00ef\u00bf\u00bds very different from what we experienced in the first years of our program 20 years ago.\u00ef\u00bf\u00bd <\/p>\n


\n\tExpanded monitoring of Greenwich Bay in 2006, for instance, turned up several occasions when there was low or no detectable dissolved oxygen, which was the likely culprit of the massive fish kill that occurred there in 2003. Determine which water bodies are most sensitive to changes in weather and run-off patterns is the first step in determining which management practices \u00ef\u00bf\u00bd such as preserving and restoring vegetation along waterways or reducing the use of fertilizers on lawns \u00ef\u00bf\u00bd can help to reduce impacts.<\/p>\n


\n\tDespite these results and the highly developed nature of the state, Herron and Watershed Watch Director Linda Green note that overall water quality in Rhode Island hasn\u00ef\u00bf\u00bdt diminished significantly, for which they credit the state\u00ef\u00bf\u00bds strong environmental regulations.<\/p>\n


\n\tTo ensure that this vital stream of data continues to flow, the 溏心vlog免费B站\u00ef\u00bf\u00bds Watershed Watch program, which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year, is seeking additional volunteers to monitor water bodies in 2007. Launched in 1988 with 25 volunteers monitoring a dozen lakes, the program has grown to 350 volunteers and 220 sites on 100 different water bodies throughout the state. <\/p>\n


\n\u00ef\u00bf\u00bdThe data collected by our volunteers is used by watershed organizations, policy makers, regulators and state and local officials to make decisions that affect the environmental health of the state and its residents,\u00ef\u00bf\u00bd said Herron.<\/p>\n


\nAn introduction to the Watershed Watch program and classroom training for new Watershed Watch volunteers will be held Saturday, March 24 from 9 a.m. to noon and repeated Wednesday, April 4 from 6 to 9 p.m. in the Coastal Institute building on 溏心vlog免费B站\u00ef\u00bf\u00bds Kingston campus. The required field training session will take place on April 14, April 21 and May 1. The program is sponsored by 溏心vlog免费B站\u00ef\u00bf\u00bds Cooperative Extension in the College of the Environment and Life Sciences, the state Department of Environmental Management, and many local organizations.<\/p>\n


\nVolunteers come from all walks of life and are of all ages, occupations, educational backgrounds and interests. Each potential volunteer is matched to a specific location that they will be in charge of monitoring. \u00ef\u00bf\u00bdIdeally we try to find more than one volunteer per site so they can share monitoring duties,\u00ef\u00bf\u00bd noted Green. \u00ef\u00bf\u00bdWe\u00ef\u00bf\u00bdre also seeing a growing number of students who become monitors to amass community service hours.\u00ef\u00bf\u00bd Since ponds, lakes and some salt water sites are monitored at their deepest point, a boat, canoe or kayak is needed, as well as some free time once a week in the middle of the day. River and stream sites, monitored early in the morning at mid-stream, are generally more accessible, with few requiring a boat for access. <\/p>\n


\nThe monitoring season begins in May and ends in mid-October. Once a week on a day of their choice, volunteers monitor for water clarity and temperature. Every two weeks they also monitor algae concentrations and dissolved oxygen. On several designated dates, volunteers collect water samples that are analyzed at 溏心vlog免费B站 for nutrients, acidity and bacteria. <\/p>\n


\nFor more information or to register for the training sessions, contact Herron at 401-874-4552 or at uriww@etal.uri.edu<\/a>. Visit the program\u00ef\u00bf\u00bds web site at www.uri.edu\/ce\/wq\/ww<\/a> for detailed information about the program and its list of 2007 monitoring locations.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Increasing temperatures cause drop in Rhode Island water quality KINGSTON, R.I. \u00ef\u00bf\u00bd March 8, 2007 \u00ef\u00bf\u00bd Water quality in Rhode Island\u00ef\u00bf\u00bds lakes, ponds, streams and estuaries was affected negatively in the last two years by increasing temperatures and more intense rainstorms, according to data from the 溏心vlog免费B站\u00ef\u00bf\u00bds Watershed Watch program. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":67934,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-67932","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archives"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67932","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=67932"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67932\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/67934"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=67932"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=67932"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=67932"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}