Mission & Vision
What is Alabama Water Watch
Alabama Water Watch is a citizen volunteer, water quality monitoring program covering all of the major river basins of the state. The mission of AWW is to improve both water quality and water policy through citizen monitoring and action. Established in 1992, AWW is a national model for citizen involvement in watershed stewardship, largely because of its three interrelated components: citizen monitoring groups, a university-based program, and a non-profit association. AWW uses EPA-approved monitoring plans with a community-based approach to train citizens to monitor conditions and trends of their local waterbodies. With a “data-to-action” focus, AWW helps volunteers collect, analyze, and understand their data to make positive impacts.
AWW Vision and Goals
The AWW vision is to have a citizen monitor on every stream, river, lake and coast in Alabama. The goal of AWW is to foster the development of statewide water quality monitoring by:
- Educating citizens on water issues in Alabama and the world
- Training citizens to use standardized equipment and techniques to gather credible water information using quality assurance protocols.
- Empowering citizens to make a positive impact by using their water monitoring data for environmental education, waterbody restoration and protection, and involvement in watershed stewardship.
About Our Logo
It’s not a shrimp… It’s a Water Spirit!
The AWW logo is an aquatic insect called a caddisfly. This
particular caddisfly is named Hydropsyche, and is an
important member of stream communities throughout Alabama.
The name Hydro-psyche means “Water-Spirit”.
The caddisfly is, therefore, a fitting symbol of the growing “spirit”
of involvement, enthusiasm and concern for Alabama’s water
resources that citizens have shown through Alabama Water Watch.
Annual Reports
Stay up to date on our annual reports, press releases, and what we are doing serve and bring change to our community. Request a digital copy of an AWW Annual Report by contacting our office at awwprog.edu.
