By Katie Nicholas
Clean Lakes Alliance

Are you ready to take action on behalf of our lakes? Ever wonder about water quality conditions and trends at your favorite beach? A limited number of openings are available for those who want to join Clean Lakes Alliance’s popular and highly successful near-shore monitoring program.

• Take on the role of a lake scientist.
• Measure real-time, near-shore water quality conditions.
• Contribute to lakeforecast.org, Clean Lakes Alliance’s mobile-ready beach and lake conditions website.
• Help researchers better understand how algal blooms develop and migrate around the lake.

Volunteers measure air and water temperature with a digital thermometer; make notes on waterfowl, algae blooms and floating plant debris; and make clarity readings using a turbidity tube. Volunteers receive training, staff support and the use of equipment in exchange for a commitment to monitor at least once a week during the monitoring season and a donation to cover fixed costs.

Clean Lakes Alliance will be recruiting new monitors in March with training in April. The monitoring season runs May‒September. Volunteer monitoring requires a modest time commitment of one or two sampling visits to the monitoring site per week.

Currently, two Northside areas may need additional volunteer monitors for the 2018 summer season: Burrows Park and an area near Cherokee Marsh or Governor’s Island.

Volunteer training sessions will be held in Verex Plaza, 150 E. Gilman St., next to James Madison Park, in late April and early May. To learn more and register for a training session, contact Clean Lakes Alliance Watershed Coordinator Katie Nicholas at 255-1000 or katie@cleanlakesalliance.org.

Clean Lakes Alliance is a local nonprofit working to protect and improve water quality in our lakes and throughout the Yahara watershed. Learn more about citizen water quality monitoring at cleanlakesalliance.org/lake-water-quality-monitoring.