Citizen Lake Monitoring 2007: A Year in Review

During the 2007 monitoring season, 962 volunteers monitored water quality at over 856 stations (Fig. 1 & 2). Over 285 new Secchi volunteers and 185 new chemistry volunteers were trained in 2007. Data for 530 monitoring stations (vs 398 in 2006) was entered online into SWIMS by volunteers. The rest submitted data through our touchtone telephone line or on paper. Both the number of stations and number of volunteers participating are an all-time record. The goal for the coming several years is to work towards 100% volunteers reporting their data online (63% did in 2007). This shift will decrease mailing costs and staff time, which will allow the Citizen Lake Monitoring network to grow.

Wisconsin lakes are under stress from pollution, loss of habitat and more recently aquatic invasive species (AIS). The state has too few resources to monitor all 15,000 lakes and for decades has depended on citizen volunteers for help. At UW Lakes Extension, the Citizen Volunteer Monitoring Network (CLMN) is working with Clean Boats Clean Waters (CBCW), Wisconsin DNR, Wisconsin Association of Lakes (WAL), county and regional Extension and others in a statewide partnership to prevent the spread of and monitor for AIS. UWEX-Lakes has evolved CLMN training sessions to include AIS monitoring protocols and has taken the lead in training staff (UWEX, County Extension, Basin Educators, RC&D, DNR, etc.) to train volunteers as well as host monitoring workshops. Now, most AIS “new finds” are discovered by trained volunteers and lakes residents allowing earlier detection and rapid response.

CLMN monitors secchi clarity, chemistry, temperature, dissolved oxygen, aquatic plants and AIS (Fig. 3). The goal is to expand the less expensive monitoring while maintaining and slightly expanding the more costly chemistry, temperature, dissolved oxygen and plant monitoring opportunities.

Retention and the term length of volunteers are excellent. Twenty three (+10%) volunteers are still actively participating after 20 years; a combined 490 years of monitoring on their lakes. Of all the lakes that were monitored in 1987, approximately 84% are still being monitored by volunteers!

According to the longer term data, water quality on a majority of lakes is stable. On some lakes water quality has improved and sadly on a few, water quality has declined. To assure collection of accurate data, a quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) test was piloted in 2007. Thirty-seven randomly selected volunteers (representing about 10% of the total number of lakes monitored for chemistry) collected field blanks and duplicates during their August sampling event to help detect any analytical problems during sampling, transport and lab analysis.

The results are very encouraging. Only 2 of 37 blanks have a detectable level of Total P. The duplicate samples are consistently within 10% of each other for Total P and chlorophyll. There are some problems with labeling of samples and sample preservation that will be corrected with a clearer labeling system, easy-to-understand lab slips and better directions for volunteers.

QA/QC sampling will continue into the future covering 10% of the chemistry volunteers every year. A QA/QC plan will be in place for Secchi and dissolved oxygen soon and an overall draft Quality Assurance Plan for the CLMN should be available later this spring.