{"id":642,"date":"2013-05-23T16:05:04","date_gmt":"2013-05-23T16:05:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wp.auburn.edu\/aww\/?p=642"},"modified":"2023-06-27T15:59:06","modified_gmt":"2023-06-27T15:59:06","slug":"and-the","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aaes.auburn.edu\/wrc\/and-the\/","title":{"rendered":"And the Winners Are…"},"content":{"rendered":"

The following awards were presented to AWW Groups and Monitors at the 2013 AWW Get-Together on Friday, May 10th<\/sup>, 2013:<\/p>\n

2013 River Basin Award: \u00a0Chattahoochee Basin<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

[l to r] Roger Martin, Michael Freeman, Melissa Brown, Carl Badger, Susan Shiver, Bill Deutsch<\/p><\/div>In late 2009 there was one AWW monitor testing two sites in the Chattahoochee watershed.\u00a0 Because of the efforts of many, the Chattahoochee River Basin now has eleven AWW monitors representing four groups!\u00a0 Monitors from the \u201cHooch\u201d representing all four groups were present.<\/p>\n

Carl Badger with Lake Harding Water Watch<\/strong><\/p>\n

The lone monitor back in 2009, Carl Badger was certified in August of that year.\u00a0 Carl samples on Halawaka and Osanippa Creeks and has submitted 69 Water Chemistry and 43 Bacteria records.\u00a0 We still laugh about the day that Sam Fowler was traveling across a bridge over Halawaka Creek and saw someone out in a boat doing something with what looked like a hypodermic needle.\u00a0 His first thought was \u201cdrug addicts\u201d, however when taking a closer look, Sam realized that he was witnessing an AWW monitor at work!\u00a0 In fact, this was Carl\u2019s first monitoring event, with the help of his AWW mentor, Tia Gonzales.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Roger Martin with Chattahoochee RiverWarden<\/strong><\/p>\n

Roger Martin has served since 2010 as the Executive Director of Chattahoochee RiverWarden, which uses advocacy, science and education for the protection and stewardship of the Lower Middle Chattahoochee watershed. \u00a0After retiring from a 34-year career with Ellis and Everard, US Holdings, Roger worked as Development Director for Apalachicola Riverkeeper for three years. CRW partners with public, private and nonprofit organizations to educate and train volunteers in citizen-scientist programs, raise awareness of water quality threats and organize waterway cleanups. Very active in the Georgia Adopt-a-Stream Program as a Trainer and monitor, Roger attended AWW workshops in February 2012 and helps sample four sites in the watershed for Water Chemistry (29 samples) and Bacteria (26 samples).<\/p>\n

Melissa Brown with Phenix City Water Watch<\/strong><\/p>\n

Melissa Brown is the Erosion and Stormwater Coordinator for the City of Phenix City in the Engineering Department.\u00a0 Melissa first heard about AWW at ADEM\u2019s NonPoint Source Conference and thought it was a great program.\u00a0 The City of Phenix City was excited about using AWW methods to monitor strategic sites and established Phenix City Water Watch after Melissa attended workshops in June 2012.\u00a0 She currently tests at three sites and has submitted 22 records.\u00a0 Phenix City hopes the information they receive from testing will catch problems before they get out of hand and allow them to keep Phenix City waterways healthy for future generations.<\/p>\n

Mill Creek Watershed Management Plan<\/strong><\/p>\n

When Katie Dylewski first started working on the Mill Creek Watershed Plan in 2010, there were no monitors in the Mill Creek Watershed, which is 303(d) listed for organic enrichment. \u00a0Now AWW and GA-AAS monitors sample 13 sites each month. When they were writing the watershed plan, water quality data sets were sorely lacking. But, through the help of monitors in the Mill Creek watershed, they are able to track water quality data trends over time and have a better understanding of where on-the-ground projects would be most effective.<\/p>\n

Other AWW monitors who participate with the Mill Creek WMP are Michael Freeman (Auburn University and Coast Guard), who has submitted 39 samples since in 2009, Susan Shiver (educator at Central High School), who has submitted 41 records since early 2012, and Joey Hundley (Lee County Highway Department), who has submitted 64 data records. \u00a0Joey said, \u201cThe first phase has been to identify if some stretches have more impairment than others.\u00a0 With those being identified, they are now taking measures for improvement and monitoring to track if the measures have an impact.\u00a0 Ultimately the goal is to have sufficient data to delist the stream.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

2013 Jump Start New Group Award: Ono Island Canal Owners Association<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Volunteers for the Ono Island Canal Owners Association (OICOA) began water quality monitoring in June 2012. Monitors sample three sites each month and have submitted 74 records in less than a year. One of their sites had to be dropped because a large colony of swallows lived under the bridge which was directly over the site. The Coliscan plates had coliform and e-coli off the charts, so they moved to a different site.\u00a0 Two months ago, group members were alerted to a problem at one of the island\u2019s canals. The dissolved oxygen had decreased to a dangerous 3 ppm. OICOA found that the flow thru pipe that connected the canal to St. Johns water body had become blocked. After clearing the blockage, the dissolved oxygen in the canal was back up to an acceptable 5.4 ppm.\u00a0 OICOA member, Gail Engel, said, \u201cWe currently have six volunteers that come from a variety of backgrounds. The AWW training and protocols helped us all to start at the same level of expertise. We also have saved the canal owners of Ono many thousands of dollars per year.\u00a0 Previously we paid over $4000 for only two months of testing carried out by a commercial lab. Our startup cost [with AWW methods] was $2500, and we foresee continuing costs to be in the low hundreds, amounting to a huge savings for the OICOA trust fund.\u201d\u00a0 For their extraordinary monitoring efforts and ability to use their data to take action, AWW is delighted to present the 2013 Jump Start New Group Award<\/strong> to Ono Island Canal Owners Association.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

2013 Jump Start Monitor: \u00a0Oliver Van der Ende<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/strong>Oliver van den Ende is a natural resource planner for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, stationed at Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge in Decatur. \u00a0Primary duties include assisting Wheeler and other refuges in northern Alabama and other states with their management plans, proposals for adding lands to the Refuge System, and environmental impact analyses. \u00a0Wheeler Refuge straddles approximately 35,000 acres of the Tennessee River. \u00a0Because water quality was no longer being monitored on the refuge, Oliver became certified in November 2011 and began sampling two creeks that flow through the refuge in January 2012. \u00a0Limestone Creek is important from a recreational fishing standpoint, and it also supplies water to several large waterfowl impoundments. \u00a0Beaverdam Creek is the only known water body to support the spring pygmy sunfish, a species that requires well-vegetated, spring -fed waters and is currently being evaluated for listing under the Endangered Species Act. \u00a0Additionally, Oliver monitors Aldridge Creek, which drains the Jones Valley area of south Huntsville. \u00a0He has submitted a total of 37 Water Chemistry records for these sites since January 2012. A naturalist at heart, Oliver enjoys spending time outdoors, preferably somewhere on or near an abundant supply of clean water.\u00a0 Oliver\u2019s \u201csurge from the gate\u201d monitoring efforts at Wheeler have earned him the 2013 Jump Start Monitor Award<\/strong>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

2013 Revitalized Group Award: Lake Jordan HOBOs<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

The Lake Jordan HOBO\u2019s group was established in 1994 and in the first seven years their monitors submitted over 460 data records.\u00a0 However the next ten years saw a decline in water quality monitoring at Lake Jordan.\u00a0 In October, 2011 two ladies from Lake Jordan in Elmore County drove to Auburn to attend the Water Chemistry and Bacteriological workshops being conducted that weekend.\u00a0 Judy May and Ann Hill stuck it out that long day of lecture and field work and returned home to start reviving the monitoring efforts on Lake Jordan.\u00a0 Since that workshop, 16 Water Chemistry monitors and four Bacteria monitors have been certified on Lake Jordan and 108 records have been submitted for 13 active sites.\u00a0 For their rejuvenation efforts, Alabama Water Watch is honored to present the 2013 Revitalized Group Award<\/strong> to the Lake Jordan HOBO\u2019s.<\/p>\n

Judy May accepted the award for the group and has taken a leadership role, hosting two Water Chemistry workshops, two Recert sessions and a Bacteria workshop at her home on the lake.\u00a0 Judy travels to new monitors to help them with their first sampling efforts and keeps tabs on the active status of group monitors.\u00a0 She\u2019s obtained funding to support water quality monitoring on the lake from the HOBO\u2019s and is an active Water Chemistry and Bacteria monitor.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

2013 Jump Start Trainer:\u00a0 Patti Hurley<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

There\u2019s not enough time to say all there is to say about Patti and her involvement with AWW, but we will say this \u2013 she is one of AWW\u2019s most productive citizen Trainers! Some history – Patti attended her first workshop in the early 90\u2019s and has submitted 728 water quality monitoring records (426 Water Chemistry \/ 302 Bacteria).\u00a0 She became a citizen Trainer in 1997 and has conducted 67 workshops and recertification sessions.\u00a0 Patti is a founding board member of the AWWA and still serves on the board.\u00a0 Because AWW depends so heavily on our citizen Trainers, we wanted to recognize the Trainer that had conducted the most workshops up to this point of the year.\u00a0 When we ran the numbers, Patti\u2019s name rose to the top of list \u2013 she\u2019s already conducted four workshops this year.\u00a0 Imagine the impact we could have if every Trainer was as willing as Patti is to conduct a workshop \u2013 traveling the length of the state to teach people about water quality and how to monitor.\u00a0 For being first out of the gate this year \u2013 AWW has the pleasure of giving Patti Hurley the 2013 Jump Start Trainer Award.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Groups that best represent the three \u201cData to Action\u201d categories of AWW<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

2013 Environmental Education Award: \u00a0Central High School (Susan Shiver)<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

In November 2011 educator Susan Shiver organized a group of environmentally minded students at Central High School in Phenix City, Alabama to become certified as AWW Chemistry and Bacteria Monitors.\u00a0 Approximately 15 students and the school nurse, Cindy Howard, participated in two days of training and field work.\u00a0 Under the guidance of Susan, the students have honed their monitoring skills and are learning the importance of scientific data to watershed protection.\u00a0 With the support of the Mill Creek Watershed Project, the group was able to acquire testing supplies and begin chemistry and bacteria monitoring of a small stream on the campus of CHS. The group has consistently turned in credible water data for the stream to the AWW online database \u2013 over 40 Water Chemistry and Bacteria records!\u00a0 Susan said, \u201cThe students have been diligent .\u2026 through the summer, rain, and even a tornado warning! It has been amazing to listen to them talk about what they expect the test results to be when the weather has had extreme rain or drought over the last year. I think this is an experience that these students will take with them for a lifetime.\u201d<\/p>\n

Susan Shiver was first introduced to AWW while an undergraduate at Auburn University.\u00a0 She has been teaching for ten years, the last nine years at Central High School in Phenix City, Alabama.\u00a0 Susan teaches environmental science, biology, anatomy and physiology.\u00a0 During her first years at Central High School she was asked to sponsor the Envirobowl and Envirothon clubs and not long after that started looking for ways that CHS students could help the environment. \u00a0She was introduced to AWW once again while attending the Envirothon competitions, and established a partnership in 2011 with the Mill Creek WMP.\u00a0 Alabama Water Watch is proud to present the 2013 Environmental Education Award<\/strong> to Susan Shiver and her students for their dedication to the Mill Creek project and water quality monitoring on their campus.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

2013 Advocacy and Policy: \u00a0Logan Martin Lake Protection Association<\/span> <\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

[l to r] Mike Riley, Isabella Trussell, Rita Grub, Wayne Wilcox<\/p><\/div>The Logan Martin Lake Protection Association water quality monitoring group was established in June, 1996.\u00a0 Since that time, LMLPA monitors have submitted 2142 WC records and 570 Bacteria records from 46 sites on or near the lake.\u00a0 From the beginning LMLPA understood that their data could be used to protect and improve the quality of life on the lake.\u00a0 Monitoring of swimming areas has exposed bacteria contamination from broken sewage infrastructure and wildlife.\u00a0 LMLPA data was used to help change local statutes, identify sewage problems needing repair and warn the community during times of unsafe access.\u00a0 In addition to their consistent monitoring efforts, recently LMLPA has taken an active role in calling for a state-wide Water Policy in Alabama.\u00a0 The LMLPA Government Committee composed a letter to Gov. \u00a0Bentley addressing concerns related to enhanced Certificates of Use \/ Permitting, economic development, drought planning, water conservation and reuse, inter-basin transfers, in stream flows, interstate coordination and water resources data.\u00a0 Members of the committee presented this letter and their concerns in person to the governor in December, 2012.\u00a0 For their ongoing efforts to put Lake Logan Martin monitor data into action and to influence a state-wide water policy, Alabama Water Watch honors Logan Martin Lake Protection Association with the 2013 Advocacy and Policy Award<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

2013 Restoration and Protection: \u00a0Bill Peters and Gene Grimes (Living River Center)<\/strong> <\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

[l to r] Bill Peters, Gene Grimes, Bill Deutsch<\/p><\/div>Most of us would agree that our connection to water goes beyond the physical, into the realm of emotional and spiritual.\u00a0 In 2000 the Presbytery of Sheppards and Lapsley in Bibb and Shelby County purchased 440 acres on a sharp bend in the Cahaba River to establish Living River, a camp and environmental education facility.\u00a0 One of their first projects was to remove a concrete slab used during mining in the 1960\u2019s and 70\u2019s.\u00a0 Unfortunately the slab had acted as a mini-dam, blocking proper migration for fish and other river creatures.\u00a0 In 2009 Living River was the only Mine Reclamation activity in progress in the state.\u00a0 AWW monitors Bill Peters and Gene Grimes are members of Montevallo Presbyterian Church and participate in the Living River vision by conducting monthly water monitoring at two sites in the facility.\u00a0 Bill says, \u201cWe wanted to start accumulating background data and creating an ongoing record of water quality there.\u00a0 We chose two sites for our testing–one at the upstream end of the property and another about five miles downstream.\u00a0 This \u2026 allows us to determine if construction activities on the site are impacting water quality \u2026.\u00a0[and] provides us with data both upstream and downstream of the\u00a0point where Shades Creek enters the Cahaba, helping us determine if there are concerns related to the inflow from Shades Creek.\u201d \u00a0Bill and Gene have submitted 56 Water Chemistry and Bacteria records.\u00a0 For their commitment to a project which is seeking to restore and preserve the biodiversity of the longest free-flowing river in the state, Alabama Water Watch is thrilled to present the 2013 Restoration and Protection Award <\/strong>to Montevallo Presbyterian Church Green Team members, Bill Peters and Gene Grimes.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

2013 Mike Mullen Award:\u00a0 Mark Butler<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Mark was certified as an AWW monitor in 2007 and since that time he has done Water Chemistry and Bacteria monitoring on a regular basis. He works with the Blount County Soil and Water Conservation District as the Coordinator of the Dry Creek Watershed Management Project. Dry Creek is in the Middle Locust Fork watershed of the Black Warrior River Basin in north central Alabama. \u00a0It was placed on the 303(d) of impaired waters list because of water quality issues related to nutrients, ammonia, organic enrichment and pathogens from pasture grazing runoff. Because of Mark\u2019s efforts, water monitoring has become a big part of this project. This year, Mark has submitted 76 water data records which makes him the monitor of the year! He couldn\u2019t be at the Awards Presentation because of his daughter\u2019s graduation, but when we spoke with him earlier in the week he said that they have just received word that Dry Creek is coming off the impaired list for ammonia because of the improvements that have been made by his project. \u00a0For submitting the most data records in a year and having a positive impact on water quality in his community, AWW is pleased to bestow the 2013 Mike Mullen Monitor of the Year Award<\/strong> to Mark Butler.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

2013 Group of the Year: Coastal Plains Streams Water Watch<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

For the most part, Coastal Plains Streams Water Watch is a two-person team, Mike and Alice Mullen.\u00a0 But this team qualifies as a GROUP \u2013 and what a group they are!\u00a0 In two decades of water watching, CPSWW has submitted almost 4,200 Water Chemistry records and 300 Bacteria records.\u00a0 \u00a0Mike\u2019s first recorded training in AWW methods was in 1993 and Alice\u2019s in 1994, so they\u2019ve been involved with AWW pretty much from the beginning.\u00a0 Mike, former faculty of Troy University, is now the Choctawhatchee River Keeper.\u00a0 He is a founding board member of the AWWA and still serves on the board.\u00a0 In 2012, Coastal Plains Streams Water submitted 341 Water Chemistry records and 82 Bacteria records, for a total of 423 records.\u00a0 It\u2019s plain that this group takes stewardship of their area\u2019s water resources seriously.\u00a0 For this labor of intense love and incredible dedication AWW is honored to present Coastal Plains Streams Water Watch with the 2013 Group of the Year Award.<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

2013 Trainer of the Year:\u00a0 \u00a0Homer Singleton<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

It was ten ye<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The following awards were presented to AWW Groups and Monitors at the 2013 AWW Get-Together on Friday, May 10th, 2013: 2013 River Basin Award: \u00a0Chattahoochee Basin<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-642","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/aaes.auburn.edu\/wrc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/642","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/aaes.auburn.edu\/wrc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/aaes.auburn.edu\/wrc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aaes.auburn.edu\/wrc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aaes.auburn.edu\/wrc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=642"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/aaes.auburn.edu\/wrc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/642\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7708,"href":"https:\/\/aaes.auburn.edu\/wrc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/642\/revisions\/7708"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/aaes.auburn.edu\/wrc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=642"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aaes.auburn.edu\/wrc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=642"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aaes.auburn.edu\/wrc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=642"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}