Since you are reading this, we know you care about water quality in Delaware. So, what else do you do about it?  Are you careful with the amount of fertilizers and pesticides you use on your lawn?  Do you avoid dumping grass clippings and leaves into your backyard stream?  Do you pick up litter and trash around your local pond?  If so, you’re already doing half the job of a Stream Watch Volunteer!

The Stream Watch Program was founded in 1985 by the Delaware Nature Society.  To date, the program has sixty-five sites enrolled in the program and almost as many volunteers from all over the state.  Ginger North has worked with of the program since 1995.

Volunteers with the Stream Watch program help protect Delaware waterways by observing one portion of a local stream and periodically filling out a survey form.  Learning to be a StreamWatcher is easy and can be a great family activity.  Training is provided by the Delaware Nature Society at no cost to the participant.   Completed surveys help scientists to understand the ambient water quality and provide significant input for the formation of TMDLs, or Total Maximum Daily Loads for many pollutants in different watersheds across Delaware.  “The results are primarily anecdotal”, says Ginger North, “but the historical data can be used to show change over time."  Changes to the land have consequences in the streams.” 

Volunteers “adopt” a particular area of a local stream and promise to survey the area at least once a year.  Surveys have three components; visual, physical and biological.

Visual data sheets, which are completed for every survey taken of the area, ask for information on manmade structures and estimated land use as well as for point sources of probable pollution. “Nonpoint source pollution is the largest source (of pollution) in streams”, explains Ms. North. 

The physical survey asks the surveyor to quantify properties of the stream, including measuring the width/depth, classifying the water condition and aquatic vegetation, and conducting a few simple chemical tests, such as Dissolved Oxygen and Nitrates.

Biological assessment of the stream takes a bit more experience and training.   Surveyors are asked to take a macroinvertebrate tally, to measure how many and what type of insect larvae are found in the sediments of the stream.   These larvae have a different level of tolerance for pollution, and so can give the surveyor a sense of the water quality, depending on what type of organisms are found.   Identifying the insect larvae can take time and practice, but Ms. North encourages StreamWatchers to ask for help, and to attend special workshops to learn clues and tips and to practice their skills.  The importance of biodiversity is stressed, with the final Survey calculator recording how many and what types of organisms were found.

As volunteers become more involved in the Stream Watch Program, many become Watershed Team Leaders.  These veterans of monitoring are all volunteers, but take on more responsibility for the fledgling Watchers.  They help with the survey run-through, and assure all portions are completed adequately.  Watershed Team Leaders also take on more of an advocacy voice in the watershed by keeping abreast of issues that could cause water quality impacts.

If you are interested in a more technical outlook on stream health, volunteers are also needed for Stream Technical Monitoring.  These volunteers undergo a DNREC quality assurance test twice a year, so their chemical data can be used for more technical studies.  They also monitor on a monthly basis, as opposed to a quarterly or yearly basis.

We can't understate the importance of volunteers --- government agencies can not be everywhere at all times.  Pearl Burbage, former DNREC volunteer coordinator, says, “People who live by the streams see them every day and can report changes that DNREC can then hopefully fix.”  Residents have a much better idea of how a stream has changed over time due to possible impacts, and can often locate problems that might otherwise be overlooked.   Proper authorities can then be notified and corrective measures taken to reduce adverse impacts. Thanks to Stream Watchers, Delaware’s streams have guardians and a future.

The next Stream Watcher Training Session is Saturday, June 7th at Ashland Nature Center. If you are interested, please contact Ginger North at 302-239-2334 ext. 100 or by email at stream@dnsashland.org.