Those of you who are familiar with the Alabama Water Watch (AWW) Program probably know that we went through a rough patch the past few years (as did many other volunteer-based organizations, NGOs, as well as state and federal agencies). Funding from grants has been much more limited and the competition for fewer grant dollars has greatly increased. Thanks to support from the Alabama Cooperative Extension System, the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station, and integration into the AU Water Resources Center, AWW’s future is a bright one! The move to AWW’s new home and merger with the AU Water Resources Center in the new Hubbard CASIC Building at 559 Devall Drive at Auburn University was completed in September of 2013.
Thanks to the concerted efforts of the AWW staff, our dedicated volunteer trainers, and dozens of veteran monitors and newly-certified monitors, 2013 was a very productive year. Accomplishments included:
- 25 water chemistry workshops,
- 17 bacteriological workshops,
- 2 stream Biomonitoring workshops ,
- 29 volunteer monitor recertification sessions,
- 391 newly-certified AWW volunteer monitors, and,
- submission of over 3,500 water quality data records to the online AWW database.
This brings the total water data in the AWW database to over 75,700 records! These data are routinely used by municipalities, county and state agencies, researchers, and private firms involved in resource management. AWW water monitor trainings are routinely employed in watershed management plan implementation, acting as an effective outreach tool and a means to collect credible, economical water data.
Twenty-six volunteer monitors were trained (new monitors) or recertified (veteran monitors) at water chemistry and bacteriological monitoring workshops sponsored by the Earth System Science Center in Huntsville in September 2013.
Kudos to all of our volunteer monitors and trainers for a successful 2013!
