By: Amy Zvonar
AWW volunteer monitors and trainers are the backbone of our organization. Their dedication to supporting AWW’s mission is apparent every time they submit data or organize and lead a certification training. It is because of their hard work that we have active monitors in 41 of the 67 counties in Alabama!
As a bonus, all our volunteer monitors and trainers are fascinating individuals who are doing incredible things for their communities all over Alabama. We recently had the pleasure of learning more about volunteer monitor and trainer, Molly Miller, who is an Assistant Professor with the Stokes School of Marine & Environmental Sciences at the University of South Alabama in Mobile. She monitors sites in the Mobile area with the University of South Alabama and gets her college students involved in the monitoring process.
Read on to find out more about what brought Molly to AWW and why she thinks water quality monitoring is important. Plus, you won’t want to miss finding out what her favorite aquatic organisms are!
Where do you call home?
I currently call Daphne, Alabama home. I love living on the Eastern Shore of Mobile Bay; it’s a beautiful area and being close to the Bay is the best!
What got you interested in becoming an AWW Volunteer Monitor and Trainer?
I became interested in becoming an AWW Volunteer Monitor and Trainer when I joined the faculty at USA. I honestly was not aware of the AWW program until that point. My colleague, Dr. Amy Sprinkle, got us involved and was keen on getting students trained and engaged in the project as a way for them to get hands-on experience doing water quality measurements.
Since I have spent 15+ years monitoring water quality for various research projects around the northern Gulf Coast region, it was a perfect match for me. Additionally, I teach an environmental chemistry class and an environmental monitoring and assessment class every year (spring and fall semesters, respectively). In each class we cover topics directly related to the water chemistry measurements done as part of the AWW monitoring. Going to the sites with my classes makes a perfect experiential learning opportunity for all my students.
Where do you test, and how many sites do you monitor?
I have four sites around the USA campus and Mobile area that are monitored monthly. Together with a team of students, we visit these sites monthly to measure water chemistry and perform bacteriological monitoring. I use them as teaching opportunities whenever possible.
What stream, river, lake, bay, or bayou is your favorite water-spot?
Of the four sites we monitor, the site that sits right on USA campus is my favorite. This site is part of the Three Mile Creek watershed and is pretty unique. It is quite shallow and full of vegetation. The quantity of vegetation leads to a high amount of organic matter produced which, in turn, leads to very low dissolved oxygen concentrations nearly year-round. Because of this, it makes this site a super cool place to bring students and teach about the interactions between chemistry, physics, and biology and how they all impact water chemistry (and ultimately, water quality!).
For leisure, I love to spend time on Fish River and Mobile Bay. We have so many water bodies around in Baldwin Co. and each of them is pretty unique. Since I self-classify as a science nerd, I tend to love each for different reasons, all related to their uniqueness!
What water recreation/ sports do you enjoy most?
I am an avid runner and while that is technically not a water sport, I love to tie it to the water. By far, the best running path in Baldwin Co is a run down Scenic 98 along Mobile Bay. It is a beautiful run with beautiful Mobile Bay the entire time!
Besides running alongside the water, I also enjoy stand-up paddle boarding and surfing! Lastly, I love to hang out with my two young kids on our property on Fish River in Fairhope. My little guy that just turned 5 LOVES to fish! The picture below is of a fish he caught there last summer.
Do you feel that the water data you and other AWW Volunteers collect is important to water recreation operations? If so, please share your thoughts.
Yes, absolutely. The data collected through Alabama Water Watch (AWW) is incredibly important for supporting safe water recreation. It not only contributes to a broader understanding of overall water quality in the state but also provides essential information about the safety of direct water contact through bacteriological monitoring. This kind of citizen-collected data plays a vital role in informing decisions about recreational water use and helps protect public health.
Additionally, citizen science projects like AWW empower communities to take an active role in monitoring and protecting their local waterways. By involving volunteers in data collection, these programs promote environmental awareness and foster a stronger sense of stewardship for our natural resources.
What are some of your concerns in terms of water quality for the watersheds you monitor, and other local waters?
My biggest concern about water quality at the sites we monitor is the consistent and significant spike in E. coli levels following rain events. It’s become almost predictable—every rainfall leads to a sharp increase in bacterial contamination. This pattern is concerning because it highlights an ongoing issue with stormwater runoff, especially in our coastal region. It’s frustrating that, even with all the technology and knowledge available to us in 2025, we still struggle to effectively manage stormwater and prevent pollution from reaching our waterways.
Do you have any “lessons learned” that you could pass on to others relative to watershed stewardship?
Over the past 15+ years, I’ve spent a great deal of time thinking about water quality, particularly how it supports healthy biodiversity through the research projects I’ve been part of. One of the most important lessons I’ve learned is that we all have an impact on water quality through our everyday actions. Being mindful of that impact—whether it’s reducing single-use plastics or making other environmentally conscious choices—can collectively make a meaningful difference. Clean water is essential for all of us, and we each have a responsibility to help protect and improve the quality of our water resources.
You have started to implement AL Water Watch monitoring with your students. Why do you find citizen science, specifically water quality monitoring, important for college students?
Participating in AWW as a student is a fantastic way to start gaining hands-on experience with regular water quality monitoring. Additionally, through many conversations with folks that employ students when they graduate, we have been told that when they see “volunteer for AWW” on a resume they are more prone to hire that individual.
Picture below is of three students helping sample at our site located on Michael Blvd.
What is your favorite aquatic critter?
My favorite aquatic critter happens to be an aquatic plant that is quite notorious for being a problematic species. The plant is Hydrilla verticilla, quite possibly the most invasive aquatic plant in the SE United States.
Why is my favorite aquatic critter an invasive plant?! Well, hydrilla just happens to be maybe the most unique plant I have ever worked on. I spent both of my graduate degrees studying this species. It has been termed “the perfect aquatic weed” because of its physiological plasticity that has allowed the plant to survive and thrive in pretty much any water body. It can actually lead to changes in water chemistry when it invades a new water body!
Plus – plants are just super cool; they can’t move when environmental conditions get bad and simply have to figure out how to “cope” with them if they want to survive. That leads to a fantastic suite of interesting traits that plants possess!
If I had to pick an animal critter, I think it would be the sea cucumber. Such an odd choice, right?! Sea cucumbers are marine echinoderms (think: star fish and sea urchins). They possess a water vascular system that provides hydraulic pressure to help them move, which is pretty cool. Additionally, they have this cool defense mechanism where they forcibly expel their internal organs to distract a predator and then escape. Then, they can regenerate all those lost organs over time! Plus…it’s a wildly weird looking animal that I swear the screen writers of all the Star Wars movies channeled at some point!
For a freshwater animal species is the mayfly nymph—here’s why:
Bioindicator superstar: Mayfly nymphs are highly sensitive to pollution, so their presence signals good water quality—making them a perfect match for someone involved in watershed monitoring. They are ecologically important: They play a key role in aquatic food webs, serving as food for fish and other wildlife. Lastly, they have a short life, big impact: Though they live only briefly as adults, their life cycle is critical to ecosystem health and nutrient cycling.
Many thanks to Molly for sharing a little more about herself and involvement with AWW. Be on the lookout for more highlights featuring AWW Volunteers!