How You Can Help!
What is the CWMP?
The Citizens’ Watershed Monitoring Program (CWMP) is a volunteer stream monitoring program. The program was made possible by a four year Environmental Enhancement Grant from the Smithfield Foods-NC Attorney General Agreement. The CWMP is in coordination with the University of North Carolina-Asheville Environmental Quality Institute’s Volunteer Water Information Network (VWIN). The purpose of the CWMP is to utilize citizen volunteers to track the health of our local streams and creeks, identify problems that may need correction, and foster stewardship of our local resources.
Participation in the program involves the following activities:
- Collection of a water sample once a month, on the second Saturday of each month as close to noon as possible. Samples must be dropped off to the local volunteer coordinator to be shipped to the UNC-Asheville Environmental Quality Institute laboratory for analysis.
- Attendance to an initial training session and a yearly refresher course on water quality monitoring, visual assessments, and aquatic macroinvertebrate sampling.
- Once a year, assist the Riverkeeper with a visual/habitat site assessment and conduct a benthic macroinvertebrate analysis.
- Submit data monthly to the program/monitoring coordinator.
- Membership in PTRF