By: Amy Zvonar
Dedicated AWW volunteer monitors help protect the quality of Alabama’s waterbodies through regular monitoring and reporting. AWW’s monthly Volunteer Highlight Blog spotlights the efforts of these incredible volunteers. AWW is grateful for the opportunity to get to know our volunteers better, and we hope you are as inspired by their stories as we are!
This month, we’re catching up with Joe and Marci Logan who monitor at Murphy Lake and with Lakewatch Lake Martin. Certified in bacteriological and water chemistry monitoring since 2021, Joe and Marci are helping educate their community about the importance of protecting recreational waters. Joe is also the Lake Manager at Murphy Lake and on the board at Lakewatch Lake Martin! Read on to learn more about Joe and Marci!
Read on to learn more about Joe and Marci and discover how they used their data to make impactful changes in their community!
Where do you call home?
We call Dadeville, Alabama our home. Dadeville is an amazing little city, and we never run out of things to do! We enjoy going to concerts on Lake Martin, events at the Lake Martin Mini Mall, and hiking, boating and fishing.
What got you interested in becoming AWW Volunteer Monitors?
We became interested in becoming AWW volunteer monitors because of concerns in our Murphy Lake community regarding our water quality. When we first began attending HOA meetings for Murphy Lake, we noticed there were a lot of concerns over algal blooms in the lake. Joe volunteered to be the Lake Manager, and we realized we needed more education to help us get answers our community could rely on. Becoming AWW volunteer monitors, along with taking courses through the Alabama Cooperative Extension System and learning from Auburn Fisheries professionals, helped us get the education and data we needed to address the water quality concerns arising in our community.
When you are not monitoring water quality, what keeps you busy?
When we are not monitoring water quality we are boating, swimming, fishing or gardening. We enjoy kayaking on the Tallapoosa River and seeing the Cahaba lilies. Growing vegetables and daylilies in our garden provides us with so many learning opportunities! Recently, we visited New Water Farms in Dadeville and learned more about organic gardening, companion planting, and planting for pollinators. This past summer, we implemented some of the techniques we learned and had our best harvest ever.
Where do you test, and how many sites do you monitor?
Our test sites are at Murphy Lake and Lakewatch Lake Martin, and we currently monitor 7 sites. For other volunteer monitors looking to add sites to their rotation, we recommend keeping the sites close to your home. We also make our monitoring trips into little adventures. We pack a cooler so we can have a snack or lunch along the way, and we take turns creating games to play. For example, we might estimate how many animals we will see at each site or practice our observation skills by comparing the differences between how our site looks now versus the last time we visited.
What are some of your concerns for the watersheds you test?
When we test, we take a particular interest in our E. coli counts. High counts could indicate potential issues with septic systems caused by septic overload and improper maintenance. In the past, with the help of veteran AWW volunteers, Ann and Matt Campbell, we were able to identify a septic tank leak using our AWW bacteriological testing results. Our data helped ensure the homeowner corrected the problem, and we were able to improve the water quality of Murphy Lake. Continuing to make sure our community is aware of how important proper maintenance and septic system stewardship is to the quality of the water we love to swim, boat and fish in is one of our top priorities for testing.
What motivates you to continue routinely gathering and reporting water quality data?
Routinely gathering and reporting water quality data provides us with the proof we need to advocate for changes for clean water. As we mentioned earlier, when we first began monitoring we were able to use the data to locate a leaking septic tank and advocate for the owner to get it fixed. We also post testing results on the Murphy Lake website to help educate and raise awareness in our community about water quality. Knowing that our efforts help our neighbors understand how to protect the water we fish and boat in helps us stay motivated.
In what ways do you feel that the water data you and other AWW volunteers collect is important?
This data is important to us because it is visible. When you visit the AWW website, the data is mapped and recorded for all to see. Our Lakewatch Lake Martin Swim Guide network displays our bacteriological tests results on SwimGuide, an online guide to swimming water quality information. Anyone can then view the results and make more informed decisions about where they go swimming.
Do you have any “lessons learned” that you could pass on to others relative to watershed stewardship?
It is amazing how testing water can bring opportunities for learning! We have learned so much and are still learning new information, for example we recently became more aware of how runoff can bring pesticides, herbicides, and other pollutants to our test sites. We have also learned the value of posting testing signs when you are monitoring in high-traffic areas. One time, when we were monitoring in a safe location off of 280, we forgot to put out a testing sign. A state trooper saw our car pulled off to the side of the road and pulled over to check on us. We were able to explain what we were doing, but from then on we always make sure to post a sign so passersby can know what we are doing!
What advice do you have for other monitors?
Wear snake boots and remember safety first!
What is your favorite aquatic critter?
Joe: My favorite aquatic critter is this amazing bryozoan colony of living organisms that literally looks like something out of this world. They are filter feeders and help clean and filter the water. At first, I wasn’t sure about touching the colony but after watching a video about bryozoans online, I was ready to check them out and take this picture! (From the AWW staff: You can read more about bryozoans on the Outdoor Alabama website here.)
Marci: My favorite aquatic critters are turtles!
Where is your favorite water spot?
Our favorite swim sites are at the islands on Lake Martin. The beaches are beautiful, it almost looks like the Caribbean!
What water recreation/sports do you enjoy the most?
We enjoy boating and fishing, and we actually met while kayaking in the middle of the Cahaba River! Lake Murphy was built as a fishing lake and no gasoline motors are allowed on the lake. We have ample opportunities to catch largemouth bass and channel catfish!
Do you have any “moments of wonder” in nature to share from your excursions to your sites?
The circle of life moments we experience every time we go testing are truly moments of wonder and memories. We have seen something interesting happen in Murphy Lake. It was a bass heavy lake, and then we added 2,000 channel catfish to the lake. The catfish babies are a food source for the bass, which has resulted in fewer bream being eaten by the bass. We are now starting to see these neat craters in the lake, which are bream beds where the fish spawn and lay their eggs. The introduction of the catfish allowed this to happen, since the bass are now not eating as many bream!
Many thanks to Joe and Marci for sharing a little more about themselves and their involvement with AWW. Be on the lookout in February 2026 for more highlights featuring AWW Volunteers!