1999-04-22_AgendaPacket - Laserfiche WebLink

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.. /~ ~ ~] ~~ ~~ Minnesota Pollution Control Agency Printed on recycled paper with at 520 Lafa ette Road North, St. Paul, Minnesota 55155-4194 least 10% fibers from paper y recycled by consumers. For release March 25, 1999 Contact: Laurie Sovell, (507) 389-1925 Toll-free (800) 657-3864 TTY: (651) 282-5332 or (800) 627-3529 CA SE KS VOL TEER STREA ATCHERS The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency is looking for people who want to get their feet wet for a good cause this summer by becoming volunteers in the Citizen Stream-Monitoring Program (CSMP). The CSMP is a new volunteer program designed to help the state get a better handle on the condition of Minnesota's streams and rivers. While everyone knows Minnesota is the Land of 10,000 Lakes, how many know that we have more than 92,000 stream miles? Lakes get a lot of attention from our state environmental agencies, and justifiably so. But not so much is known about the health of all those stream miles. That's where CSMP volunteers come in. Based on the success of a similar MPCA program which uses citizen volunteers to monitor lakes, the CSMP aims to establish a statewide network of volunteers who keep track of the clarity of rivers and creeks near their homes. About once a week during the summer, CSMP volunteers will visit an established spot on a nearby stream. There they'll esiimate tie flow stage and rneasure the sediment suspended in the water using a clear plastic tube called a transparency tube. They'll also keep track of rain. failing on the strearr~'s watershed by using a standard rain gauge. Sediment and suspended solids can be some of the most critical pollutants in streams. They are also pollutants which are most within our ability to control, through better safeguarding of our on-land activities that affect water quality. Over time, the transparency measurements taken by CSMP volunteers will provide important information about the amount of sediment and solids in Minnesota's streams. The other measures will help scientists understand the relationship between sediment, flow, precipitation, and changes in up-stream land use. (more)