MPCA Seeks Volunteer Water Monitors

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency is recruiting volunteers to help track water quality changes in lakes and streams across the state.

More than 1,300 Minnesotans volunteer to track the health of their favorite lake or stream through the Citizen Lake and Citizen Stream Monitoring Programs. That makes them among the largest citizen science programs in the nation. But the agency seeks more volunteers to reach all the lakes and streams across the state.

As part of the program, volunteers are asked to perform a short and simple test at their designated lake or stream once per week throughout the summer. The MPCA provides equipment and training.

For some lakes and streams, volunteers are the only regular source of water quality data.