Adopt-a-stream, Vol. 13, no. 5 (Sept./Oct. 2006)

GEORGIA
Adopt-A-Stream
Volume 13, Number 5, September / October 2006
Allison Hughes and Sally Mason, Editor

Department of Natural Resources Environmental Protection Division

On May 12th, two UGA undergraduate students, a PhD student in Environmental Toxicology and their professor packed up a couple of water testing kits and some Adopt-A-Stream (AAS) manuals and set out to test some water. Two flights later, they arrived in Hanoi, Vietnam and began a class on "Environmental Issues in Developing Nations", a class taught by Dr. Marsha Black and Aaron Wilson (both are certified AAS trainers) and a part of the UGA College of Public Health's Maymester Study Abroad in Vietnam. Community-based environmental action is nothing new to Vietnam, but many community organizations lack the resources and training to back up their complaints with hard, scientific data. Within this class, students Julie Goldberg and Sylvia Ferguson conveyed the ideals and techniques of Georgia Adopt-A-Stream to like-minded students in Vietnam.
Over the course of three weeks, Goldberg and Ferguson learned about chemical monitoring techniques and even sampled water from some of the lakes that dot Hanoi. The level of community support they encountered surprised them. "When Julie [Goldberg] and I went out into the city of Hanoi to sample different lakes, we were always surrounded by a large crowd of onlookers at each and every site that we visited," said Ferguson. "Everyone was well aware that the water quality was poor and that it posed a great environmental and health risk, and they seemed happy that we were out there trying to do something about it."
The class culminated in a workshop in which several students from Vietnam's Institute for Nuclear Science and Technology were taught the basic principles of citizen monitoring by Goldberg and Ferguson, newlyminted student trainers. Training was not all that was given. Using funding from a University of Georgia IDEAS grant, Dr. Marsha Black purchased two chemical testing kits for use by the Vietnamese students. She also had pertinent portions of the AAS Training Manual translated into Vietnamese and printed for distribution. "It was especially gratifying when we were able to donate the water testing kits to the Vietnamese students," Ferguson said. "They couldn't believe it, and seemed very thankful."
As a rapidly industrializing country, Vietnam's environmental outlook is uncertain, but with determination, and a little outside support, Vietnamese communities may not have to tolerate widespread pollution for too much longer.
Article written by Aaron Wilson and Dr. Marsha Black

America's Clean Water Foundation (ACWF) and the International Water Association (IWA), along with many global partners, coordinate a world water-monitoring event across the globe. World Water Monitoring Day unites volunteers and water professionals alike to emphasize the important role that monitoring plays in protecting water quality. This effort generates a worldwide water quality snapshot by asking volunteers to monitor local streams, rivers, lakes, ponds and other water resources anytime between September 18th and October 18th.
We encourage you to join thousands of other volunteers across the globe by reporting water quality results to this database, please remember to also send your data to AAS. Certified AAS volunteers are encouraged to monitor, although you do not need to be AAS certified to participate. If you are not AAS certified the event does offer inexpensive kits ($13) and instructions for anyone interested in participating. To register your site and water quality data visit: www.worldwatermonitoringday.org.
Elachee Nature Science Center is working hard to restore the 2,700-acre Chicopee Woods Watershed. With a $481,560 Section 319(h) grant from the Georgia Environmental Protection, and a required match from local entities of $328,715, work has begun to improve stormwater detention in the headwaters of Walnut and Vulture Rock Creek and restore over 3,000 linear feet of stream in the watershed. These federal funds are granted as part of the Clean Water Act, which established a NonPoint Source Program recognizing the need for greater federal leadership to help focus State and local nonpoint source efforts. Elachee Nature Science Center is administering the grant. Local partners in the effort providing matching funds or in-kind services include: Elachee, Chicopee Woods Area Park Commission, City of Gainesville, Hall County, Gainesville College, Hall County Soil & Water Conservation District, and the Georgia Mountains Regional Development Center.
Phase I of the grant includes improvements to three existing stormwater detention ponds, and construction of a new stormwater detention pond and a constructed wetland. Phase II involves stream restoration efforts that include stabilization of streambanks through the installation of natural material structures, which will reduce erosion, provide habitat for flora and fauna, and recreate a natural stream pattern. Phase III involves monitoring and reporting on the project to measure the performance of construction methods. The grant also includes watershed education programs for 4th-8th graders from local Gainesville City and Hall County Schools, the training of citizen stream volunteer monitors, and semi-annual public meetings providing progress updates on the grant project.
The Preserve is one of the largest contiguous conservation easements in Georgia outside of the quail hunting plantations of southwest Georgia. Elachee, as the Preserve Manager for the Chicopee Woods Park Commission, has developed a long-range management plan for the 1,400-acre Chicopee Woods Nature Preserve that surrounds the Center. Included in the plan is a commitment to the restoration of the Preserve's watershed to ensure a healthy and attractive natural feature for future generations. "This federal grant and the resources it provides will go a long way toward that effort," said Andrea Timpone, President and CEO of Elachee. "We are proud to be the recipients of such a sizable grant, are eager to complete the project, and will continue to seek other funding sources so we can restore the remaining portions of the watershed."
Article written by Cynthia Taylor For more information contact Ms. Taylor by calling 770.535.1976 or e-mail her at preserve@elachee.org.

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This year Georgia Adopt-A-Stream partnered with the Georgia River Network to educate paddlers participating in Paddle Georgia 2006. As paddlers meandered down the Etowah they received Adopt-A-Stream chemical training. The Etowah River provided a great location for the workshop. Participants were able to see first hand examples of permitted point source discharge sites as well as nonpoint source pollutants as we were teaching the workshop. For example, we passed farms where the cows were allowed to walk all the way to the river. We also passed homes which had their lawns mowed down to the riverbanks and floated by a few NPDES permitted industrial plants. When it rained, we witnessed sediment-chocked streams dump their turbid water into the Etowah. This unique opportunity allowed us to see and discuss the effects that human impact has on water quality.

The Paddle Georgia event also gave us the opportunity to gather chemical water quality data on 120 miles of the Etowah River. Each day, certified monitoring teams set out on their paddle with monitoring equipment in hand. Each team measured temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, conductivity and collected grab samples for fecal coliform and E. coli testing. Overall, the groups sampled over 50 sites. Results from the study will soon be available and a summary will be published in an upcoming newsletter.

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Rivers Alive is rolling right along, but we need you to join the effort to make this year's waterway cleanup even bigger than 2005. As of August 14th, there were 22,500 volunteers registered for 163 separate cleanup events throughout Georgia. In order to meet our goal of 30,000 volunteers we need your help to get an additional 7,500 volunteers. You can create a cleanup in your community or join one if it already exists in your town. For more information on organizing a cleanup go to www.riversalive.com.

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After months of testing various brands of conductivity meters, AAS has approved the Oakton Waterproof ECTestr. The conductivity meter offers push button calibration, a replaceable sensor, hold function, auto off, and auto temperature compensation. It is available from Hach at www.hach.com (product # 2845500).

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The DeKalb County Soil & Water Conservation District has produced a webpage to educate citizens on sanitary sewer overflows (SSOs). The webpage is in a "Frequently Asked Questions" format. Causes of SSOs, health impacts, how to report SSOs, are a few of the topics addressed at www.dekalbcountysso.com

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This conference is sponsored by the Joseph W. Jones Ecological Research Center and will focus on current water resources and aquatic habitat studies, as well as, emerging policy issues specific to the Lower Apalachicola, Chattahoochee and Flint Basin of Georgia and Florida. Presentations will be organized into three sessions: Long Term Hydrologic Changes, Critical Habitat and Rare Species, and Emerging Policy Issues. The conference is to be held at The Parks at Chehaw in Albany, on October 22nd25th. For more information visit www.jonesctr.org.

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A workshop on integrating green infrastructure planning will be held on September 13th, at Coastal Georgia Center, Savannah and September 14th, at Coastal Georgia Community College, Brunswick. Background information on green infrastructure is available at www.greeninfrastructure.net. For on-line registration and additional information on the workshop please visit www.sapeloislandnerr-ctp.org.

ADOPT-A-STREAM CALENDAR OF EVENTS
The following workshops, taught by certified AAS trainers, provide training in visual, biological and chemical monitoring of streams. Teachers may receive 1 PLU credit for participating. Please visit the AAS website under the Teacher Corner heading for PLU information. Please call to register for a workshop.

What
Intro / Chemical Adopt-A-Wetland Chemical Trainer Re-cert Biological Introduction AAS New Trainer Adopt-A-Wetland Chemical Introduction Adopt-A-Wetland Biological

Who
Oak Nature Preserve UGA Marine Extension Alcovy Conservation Center AAS State Coordinators Alcovy Conservation Center Etowah River Alliance AAS State Coordinators UGA Marine Extension Etowah River Alliance AAS State Coordinators UGA Marine Extension Chattahoochee Nature Center

When
Sept 9 Sept 9 Sept 16 Sept 22 Sept 23 Sept 23 Sept 26 Sept 30 Oct 7 Oct 14 Oct 25 Nov 18

Where
Tucker Skidaway Island Covington Augusta Covington Cherokee Co. DeKalb Co. Skidaway Island Cherokee Co. DeKalb Co. Skidaway Island Roswell

To Register
404.371.2540 912.598.2348 x 4 770.787.7887 404.675.1636 770.787.7887 678.493.7804 404.675.1635 912.598.2348 x 4 678.493.7804 404.675.1636 912.598.2348 x 4 404.730.8006

Workshop information is updated weekly on our website at www.GeorgiaAdoptAStream.com

QA/QC Recertification: All QA/QC volunteers must renew certification on a yearly basis. This can be accomplished by participating in the second half of our regular chemical or biological workshop.

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Gwinnett County Adopt-A-Stream will host a chemical workshop for educators only November 4th, 8:30 to 3:30 at
the Gwinnett Environmental & Heritage Center. Contact Michael O'Shield at 770.904.3505.

The Georgia Adopt-A-Stream Newsletter is published six times per year. For more information about the Georgia Adopt-A-Stream program or to contribute to the newsletter, call or write to:
Georgia Adopt-A-Stream Environmental Protection Division 4220 International Parkway, Suite 101 Atlanta, GA 30354 (404) 675-1636 or 1635 www.GeorgiaAdoptAStream.com

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