Dan, a Watershed Steward, netting macroinvertebrates to study water quality

South Chagrin Reservation, July 2022 | [Photo credit: Cleveland Metroparks]

National Water Quality Month

Greetings Watershed Stewards!

August is National Water Quality Month. It is a time to imagine what life would be like without easy access to clean water. Healthy water isn't just important to us, it is also important to all life on earth from the smallest of macroinvertebrates, to the fish in our streams, to the mammals and reptiles on the shores. We all need healthy clean water to thrive.

As August nears its end we encourage you to participate in National Water Quality Month by monitoring water quality or looking at our monitoring data to learn about trends in our local watershed. You can pledge to be a watershed champion (if you aren't already).

We'd love to hear about your journey and what makes you passionate about water quality. We also encourage you to share your journey with the world, your friends and your neighbors using the hashtag #neowatersteward.

Best, 

Elizabeth Hiser (she/her)

Stream Restoration Ecologist

Watershed Reflections

August has been an eventful month for WVP! Thanks to all our stewards who continue their great independent work monitoring the health of our local streams, tackling weeds and invasive plants in our green infrastructure and natural spaces. Our WVP table at Backyard Bash was a hit and we got some great ideas from our volunteers to make it even better for our next event at NEORSD's Clean Water Fest (Sat, Sept 17. Multiple shifts available). Our wetland warriors did a great job tackling the willows in our Watershed Stewardship Center wetlands and we were grateful that volunteer Margaret was able to share that the zoo did indeed use our cuttings the very next day to feed baby rhino Dalia. We are so thankful for all of your time and efforts and continue to be inspired by the wonderful WVP community of stewards.

Watershed volunteers monitoring water clarity using turbidity tubes. | May 2022

[Photo credit: Cleveland Metroparks]

Dive in to Water Quality:

Visual Trends and Observations

To celebrate National Water Quality Month, take a look at our water quality monitoring data and see if you notice any trends. We have two useful tools for looking at water quality trends: Water Reporter & the Great Lakes Data Watershed

Our partners at Cleveland Water Alliance and the Chesapeake Commons created the platform Water Reporter for visualizing water quality parameters such as phosphate and pH around Lake Erie. On this platform, found in the Visualizing Water Quality Around Lake Erie section of our WVP Monitoring page, you will be able to see data from various watershed groups around the Lake Erie Basin.

The Great Lakes Data Watershed was created by Mark App utilizing a Visual Dataflow Application Builder (VDAB^tm) to create dashboards of available environmental data. They have recently worked with Doan Brook and Rocky River to flesh out their watershed specific dashboards. On these dashboards you can click around and see available water quality and flow data for these watersheds.

We encourage you to visit these sites and explore data collected by our volunteer monitors and partners. Some suggested questions to mull over as you get started.

• What do you think contributes to differences in parameter levels across the watershed?
• What do you think are the benefits of having online platforms like this? What are the disadvantages?
• What pollution sources might drive changes in parameters like phosphorus, nitrogen, and salinity? How might these parameters be expected to change seasonally?
• What other information might be useful to have on these platforms to better analyze water quality trends?



Please share your observations with us at [email protected].

Lake Erie Communities Standardize Data Collection for Watershed Health

The Lake Erie Volunteer Science Network (LEVSN) - a collaboration of 16 local water quality monitoring programs convened by Cleveland Water Alliance (CWA) - has published a set of standards for volunteer-collected data that will empower communities to tell a new regional story about the health of our watersheds and support smart environmental education, research, and management.

Residents of Lake Erie communities feel a powerful sense of connection to their water resources and local organizers have harnessed this energy to power “Citizen” or “Volunteer” science groups that have monitored water quality across their watersheds for years. However, challenges around the credibility and consistency of the collected data have often meant that experts and communities struggle to fully leverage the power of volunteer science to fill critical information gaps and support the management of our most precious natural resources.

To address these challenges, the new standards - called the Lake Erie Baseline Assessment Framework (LEBAF) - were co-developed with researchers and decision makers at CWA’s 2022 Lake Erie Citizen Science Summit with a goal of unlocking the potential of local groups to address the most pressing water governance, research, and advocacy challenges currently facing Lake Erie communities.

Watershed Management Professionals touring the Foster's Run Restoration Project.

North Chagrin Reservation, August 2022 | [Photo credit: Cleveland Metroparks]

(R) Work Session: Tree Care

Wed, Sep 7, 5:30 - 7:30 p.m. @ Brighton Park

(L) Monday Meetup: Doan Brook Watershed Partners*

Mon, Sep 12, 1 - 3 p.m. @ Rockefeller Park, Cleveland

(O) Outreach Event: Clean Water Fest

Sat, Sep 17, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. (Multiple shift options available)

@ Southerly Wastewater Treatment Center

(M) Training: Scenic Rivers Macro Monitoring

Wed, Sep 21, 10 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. @ North Chagrin Reservation

(R) Work Session: Foster's Run Tree Planting

Wed, Sep 21, 5:30 - 8 p.m. @ North Chagrin Reservation

(R) Work Session: Bioretention Planting & Care

Fri, Sep 23, 10 a.m. - noon @ Mill Stream Run Reservation

(R) Work Session: Willow Harvesting

Mon, Sep 26, 9 a.m. - noon @ West Creek Reservation

*Open to the public, email us to register. WVP volunteers, please log into Volgistics to register.

Interagency Ecological Restoration Quality Committee | Restoration of Braddock Bay on Lake Ontario Under Varying Water Levels*

Aug 25, 11 a.m. - noon. Join this virtual webinar led by Dr. Rachel E. Schultz to learn about the restoration of Braddock Bay, a coastal wetland degraded by cattail invasion and erosion, through the U.S. EPA through the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative | Register here

Doan Brook Watershed Partners | 10th Annual Take to the Lake*

Aug 27, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. Enjoy some end-of-the-summer fun in the sun with an afternoon of paddling, guided hikes, yoga, and live music along the banks of historic Lower Shaker Lake | Register here

The Nature Conservancy | Tick Safety*

Sep 1, 7 - 8 p.m. Join Timothy McDermott, DVM Assistant Professor and Extension Educator with The Ohio State University, in this virtual webinar to learn about the state of ticks in Ohio and how to keep your family tick-safe | Register here

Cuyahoga Soil & Water Conservation District | Master Rain Gardener Fall Online Course*

Sep 5 - Oct 7, 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. Explore the process of designing and installing your very own rain garden! Learn how rain gardens naturally filter stormwater to prevent untreated water from entering our storm sewers and streams | Register here

Great Lakes Ecoregion Network | Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement

Sep 6, 2 - 3:30 p.m. Great Lakes Ecoregion Network (GLEN) invites you to help protect your Great Lake! GLEN is a binational group of dedicated advocates working to strengthen the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement (GLWQA) and increase public/community engagement in government policies focusing on Great Lakes water quality. | Register here

Ohio Sea Grant | Understanding Algal Blooms: State of the Science Conference*

Sep 7, 8:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. Join research and outreach leaders as they present findings from recent studies and identify important areas of uncertainty | Register here

Trashy Streams and Beaches | Plastic Pollution in our Waters and What We Can Do About it*

Sep 20, 6:30 p.m. Join Friends of Euclid Creek and Anne Jefferson from Kent State University at the Beachwood Library for this program about studying trash in our local waterways. | Register here

Early Settlers | Cuyahoga Tree Symposium*

Sep 23, 9 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. Learn about legacy tree studies, community health benefits of trees, assessing current planting programs, and getting trees to underserved neighborhoods. Click here to learn more about this event | Register here



Cleveland Metroparks | Digital Emerald Necklace*

Read and watch here.

Dams and Culverts - Reconnecting Our Waterways*

Watch this video about how culverts and dams can impact flood risk and fish habitat. Click here to view

Ohio Farm Bureau Federation | 2022 Water Quality Status Report*

Read here.

*WVP volunteers can submit supplemental hours in Volgistics under (S:L) Conference/Symposium/Workshop/Webinar/Tour by Sep 30.

Ohio's rust-colored rivers are being cleaned up by turning pollution into paint.

[Photo Credit: John Sabraw/Robert Bennett]

Toxic mine pollution has turned some Ohio rivers orange. Now that pollution is being made into paint. | Read on

New Sediment Recycling Facility Paves the Way for a 2.5 Mile Pedestrian Path Along Lake Erie in Lake County | Read on

Why is Columbus getting warmer? An Ohio State University study is underway. | Read on

Meet the Dog with a Nose for Keeping British Columbia Free of Invasive Mussels | Read on

How Sewer Divers Risk Their Lives to Unclog Pipes in South Asia | Watch video here

Outdoor Educator

YMCA Camp Kern – Dayton, OH | Apply here

Environmental Technician

Davey Tree – Kent, OH | Apply here

Environmental Education Intern (Fall 2022)

Stratford Ecological Center – Delaware, OH | Apply here

District Administrator

Lorain Soil and Water Conservation District – Elyria, OH | Apply here

District Technician 2 (Closes Aug 26)

Auglaize Soil and Water Conservation District – Wapakoneta, OH | Apply here

Green Infrastructure Worker (Posted August 15)

Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District – Cuyahoga Heights, OH | Apply here

General Construction Stormwater Inspector 

WA Dept. of Ecology – Lacey, WA | Apply here

Outreach Educator/Watershed Coordinator  

Tinkers Creek Watershed Partners – Twinsburg, OH | Apply here

NOWCorps Member Coordinator

Tinkers Creek Watershed Partners – Twinsburg, OH | Apply here

Multiple NOWCorps Positions

Varies - Northeast OH | Apply here

Environmental Scientist II (Posted 8/2/22)

Markosky Engineering Group – Steubenville, OH | Apply here 

PhD Opportunity in Stream Restoration and Invasive Species (Starting: Jan 2023)

Virginia Tech – Blacksburg, VA | Apply here 

Community Engagement Specialist

MDB, Inc.- Washington, DC or Research Triangle Park, NC |  Apply Here

Ecological Restoration Technician

Enviroscience - Stow, OH |  Apply Here

Staff Environmental Scientist

Burns McDonnell - Columbus, OH |  Apply Here

Education Program Coordinator

Ohio River Foundation - Columbus, OH  | Apply Here 

Water Resource Specialist  

Dauphin County Conservation District - Dauphin, PA | Apply here

Water Resources Engineering Project Manager  

Davey Tree - Gainesville, VA | Apply here

Environmental Technician 

Davey Tree - Cincinnati/Bethel, Ohio | Apply here

Stormwater Program Manager 

Licking Soil & Water Conservation District - Newark, OH | Apply here

Conservation Educator 

Licking Soil & Water Conservation District - Newark, OH | Apply here