Clean Water Team (CWT) – Citizen Monitoring

Our Mission …  “To build and support the State’s Watersheds’ Stewardship through citizen monitoring in order to reduce and prevent water pollution.”

Citizen Monitoring
Citizen monitoring is any water quality monitoring activity that relies in whole or in part on participation by volunteers, students or non-paid staff. A variety of organizations may be involved in citizen monitoring projects, including but not limited to non-profit groups, Resource Conservation Districts (RCDs), Coordinated Resource Management and Planning (CRMP) groups, local government agencies, and colleges.

About the Clean Water Team
The Clean Water Team (CWT) is the citizen monitoring program of the State Water Resources Control Board. The CWT is a part of the Surface Water Ambient Monitoring Program (SWAMP). The CWT Citizen Monitoring Coordinator(s) work statewide in order to provide technical assistance and guidance documents, training, QA/QC support, temporary loans of equipment and communication to citizen monitoring programs and watershed stewardship organizations.

General Information on Citizen Monitoring
Learn more about citizen monitoring in California and how you can become involved with improving and protecting surface water quality as a citizen scientist.

Quick Links

• Highlights
• Clean Water Team Resources
• State Resources for California Watershed Monitoring and Stewardship
• Additional Resource Links
• Workshops and Training
• Calendars and Events

Highlights

• 2012 Map of California Citizen Monitoring Programs
• 2012 California Citizen Monitoring Calendar
• 2012 California Citizen Monitoring Calendar (with viewable URLs)

Stay current on California’s citizen monitoring activities (workshops, grants, news, etc.) by subscribing to the "Citizen Monitoring Program/Clean Water Team” email list.

Clean Water Team Resources

Citizen Monitoring Communication

• Contact the Clean Water Team
• Citizen Monitoring Newsletters

Clean Water Team Technical and Organizational Resources (Citizen Monitoring Tools)

• CWT Guidance Compendium - Water Quality Monitoring Manuals
  • Fact Sheets in Section 3 - some available in Spanish
• CWT Tool Box for Citizen Monitoring Programs
• Aquatic Invasive Species
• CWT Summary of Online Storm Water Resources
• Clean Water Team Videos — hosted on
• SWAMP Field Methods Course: A Multi Media Training Tool for Water Quality Monitoring
  • SWAMP Field Methods Course CD Available (Free!)
• Smart Phone Apps
  • Water Quality? There is an “App” for that!
  • Creek Watch: Explore Your Watershed
  • Creek Watch: Using iPhones to Help Our Watersheds
• Funding Opportunities
• Other Citizen/Volunteer Monitoring Resources
  • USEPA Monitoring and Assessing Water Quality - Volunteer Monitoring
  • Volunteer Water Quality Monitoring National Facilitation Project

Clean Water Team Monitoring Equipment Lending Program

• Clean Water Team Equipment List - 2010
• Clean Water Team Loan of Equipment Form - 2011

Citizen Monitoring Programs in California

• Community Based Watershed Programs Related to Citizen Monitoring
•  Find a Citizen Monitoring Organization in Your Region
• View 2012 California Citizen Monitoring Groups in a full screen map

Webinars on Citizen Monitoring

Dates	Topics
Various	California Water Quality Monitoring Collaboration Network
July 22, 2009	California Clean Water Team
October 28, 2009	Citizen Monitoring in Watersheds Flowing to the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary
January 27, 2010	Friends of Deer Creek: Linking Science, Water and People
April 21, 2010	Orange County CoastKeeper: Redefining the Realm of Citizen Monitoring
November 4, 2010	Collaborations for Healthier Streams: California Watersheds and AmeriCorps Programs

State Resources for California Watershed Monitoring and Stewardship

• State of California Central Portal for Watershed Information
• State Water Board's Surface Water Ambient Monitoring Program (SWAMP)
  The program that integrates existing water quality monitoring in the State.
• Contact SWAMP Staff
• California Water Quality Monitoring Council Collaboration Network
• California Water Quality Monitoring Council 'My Water Quality'
  • Is it Safe to Swim in Our Waters?
  • Is it Safe to Eat Fish & Shellfish from our Waters?
  • Are Our Aquatic Ecosystems Healthy?
• Water Quality Goals
• Run/Off Stormwater
• Water Quality Assessment
• State Water Board Watershed Management
• California Watershed Assessment Manual (CWAM) (brochure also available in Spanish)
• Report Water Quality Streambed Polluting to California Department of Fish & Games CalTip Line
  - includes: leaks, spills, dumping, sedimentation, etc.
• University of California Cooperative Extension Rangeland Watershed Program
• California Association of Resource Conservation Districts

Additional Resource Links

• Aquatic Sensor Workgroup
• BLM Library of Technical Notes
• California Water Science Center
• Central and Northern California Coastal Ocean Observing System (CeNCOOS)
• Channel Processes: Stream Channel Succession
• Environmental Education
• Environmental Literacy Council - Watersheds
• Environmental Monitoring and Measurement Advisor (EMMA)
• Historical Ecology
• Litter Butt Website
• National Water Quality Monitoring Conference Proceedings
• National Weather Service Enhanced Radar Mosaic - Pacific Southwest Sector
• National Weather Service River Forecast Center - Precipitation Data
• Nonpoint Source Pollution: NPS Guidance & Management Practices for Preventing Polluted Runoff
• River Network Resource Library
• Shattering the Myths: A California Volunteer Monitoring Success Story
• Sierra Nevada Alliance - Watershed Council Toolkit
• Southern California Coastal Ocean Observing System (SCOOS)
• Southern California Wetlands Recovery
• StreamStats
• Techniques of Water-Resources Investigations Reports USGS
• The National Environmental Methods Index (NEMI)
• The National Water Quality Monitoring Council (NWQMC)
• University of California Center for Water Resources
• U.S. EPA - A Guide to Community Culture and the Environment
• U.S. EPA - Handbook for Developing Watershed Plans to Restore and Protect Our Waters
• U.S. EPA - National Conference on Urban Storm Water: Enhancing Programs at the Local Level
• U.S. EPA - Nonpoint Source News - Notes
• U.S. EPA - Top Ten Watershed Lessons Learned
• U.S. EPA - Watershed Organizing Guide - Getting in Step: Engaging and Involving Stakeholders in your Watershed

Workshops and Training

• How to Host a Clean Water Team Workshop
• California Aquatic Bioassessment Workgroup (2003–2011), including Citizen Monitoring Presentations
• California Volunteers  - Volunteer / Non-Profit Management Training
• California Water Board Academy
• Northwest Environmental Training Center
• Project WET Facilitator's Trainings: Various dates and locations in California
• San Francisco Bay Joint Venture - Events (Includes workshops and training)
• Sierra Streams Institute
• The Watershed Project Workshops: Environmental Education for Bay Area Educators & Residents
• University of California Davis Extension - Continuing and Professional Education
• U.S. EPA Watershed Academy

Calendars and Events

2012 California Citizen Monitoring Calendar 2012 California Citizen Monitoring Calendar (with viewable URLs) CA Department of Education CA Department of Fish and Game Events Calendar Marine Calendar California Environmental Education Interagency Network (CEEIN) California Nature Events & Festivals Coastal Event Calendars National River Cleanup Calendar Water Education Foundation Calendar of Events Watershed Program Calendar World Water Monitoring Challenge

Volunteers & Water Board Staff checking the water quality of a lake. (click on image to enlarge)

Disclaimer:  We provide these links for information only. We do not control these sites nor accept any responsibility for the content or links contained on these sites.

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(Updated 4/3/12)