The Official Blog of Alabama Water Watch
Check out this article featured in the latest issue of Alabama’s Treasured Forests, co-authored by By David Dyson, USDA Forest Service; Tara Muenz, Georgia Adopt-A-Stream; and Eric Reutebuch, Alabama Water Watch:
Forest Management & Stream Water Quality
(or go to: http://www.forestry.alabama.gov/TREASUREDForests2014.aspx )
The AU Water Resources Center and AWW in partnership with the Alabama Cooperative Extension System and the AU College of Agriculture recently held the 2014 Tallapoosa Basin Conference (TBC). The TBC was initiated back in 2005 as part of a large, multi-disciplinary research and outreach effort funded by the USDA-CSREES known as the Tallapoosa Watershed Project. A variety of grants, funds and partners were involved in the conference through the years.
Continue reading “Tallapoosa basin is healthy, active watershed”
Dr. Bill Deutsch, AWWA Board of Directors
The Alabama Water Watch Association (AWWA) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that works to support the goals of the AWW Program. In the coming months we will be introducing you to our Board of Directors and helping you gain a better understanding of this organization through a series of blog articles. If you would like to know more about joining the AWWA contact one of our Board Members or visit the “Support AWW” section of our homepage.
Like a couple of others on the Alabama Water Watch Association (AWWA) Board of Directors, I’ve been with things from the beginning of our “experiment” with community-based water monitoring. As the AWW Program Director at Auburn University, I’ve given countless updates about AWW’s progress at virtually all of our Board meetings. It has been a pleasure to share the positive news of our growth and impacts…new monitoring groups formed, additional sampling sites and data records, success stories of cleaning up pollution, and new ways to provide environmental education to Alabama kids. The “experiment” was a success, and thousands of Alabamians have proved their willingness to volunteer and get active in collecting and using vital information for the protection of our streams and lakes.
Continue reading “Your AWWA Involvement is More Important Than Ever”
Cliff Webber, long-time Save Our Saugahatchee water monitor, board member and former President was honored recently by receiving the 2013 W. Kelly Mosley Award: ww.aces.edu/natural-resources/mosley
by Rita Grub
I bet you’re enjoying the warmer temps and signs of spring – soft greens and colors we haven’t seen for several months. And maybe you’re like me – amazed that over 25% of 2014 is in the past. It’s been a BUSY time for AWW:
Continue reading “Meet the fine folks that keep AWW growing statewide!”
Read about the revived water quality monitoring efforts of a dedicated troop of citizen volunteer monitors empowered by AWW to monitor the waters of Alabama’s Treasured Lake, led by Lake Watch Technical Coordinator and AWW-certified trainer, Ann Campbell.
Click here for the article: Watching the water
(source: LAKE MAGAZINE – http://www.lakemartinmagazine.com/ )
Auburn water researchers using bees to help Kenya with nutrition, income and river protection (source: Auburn Daily, 3/4/2014)
In Kenya, traditional cultures place a high value on honey and related products of the beehive. In the past it was part of the dowry or “bride price” for marriage, and a man needed to have at least 20 liters of choice honey to present to a prospective father-in-law when asking for his daughter’s hand. More than just a tradition, this commodity could be the key to improving many aspects of Kenyan lives. Auburn University’s Global Water Watch has joined with Kenya’s Green Belt Movement to find innovative ways of linking honey production with improved nutrition, higher incomes, community development and river protection.
Those of you who are familiar with the Alabama Water Watch (AWW) Program probably know that we went through a rough patch the past few years (as did many other volunteer-based organizations, NGOs, as well as state and federal agencies). Funding from grants has been much more limited and the competition for fewer grant dollars has greatly increased. Thanks to support from the Alabama Cooperative Extension System, the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station, and integration into the AU Water Resources Center, AWW’s future is a bright one! The move to AWW’s new home and merger with the AU Water Resources Center in the new Hubbard CASIC Building at 559 Devall Drive at Auburn University was completed in September of 2013.
Thanks to the concerted efforts of the AWW staff, our dedicated volunteer trainers, and dozens of veteran monitors and newly-certified monitors, 2013 was a very productive year. Accomplishments included:
by Bill Deutsch
We water monitors often think of AWW success in terms of sites monitored, water data collected and positive actions taken with that information. The “crème de la crème” might be an improvement in water quality or policy, and we’ve seen some good examples of that over the years (see our Success Story blogs on this website). But what about more subtle, even hidden, benefits of our program and work? Continue reading “The Hidden Benefits of Alabama Water Watch”
by Bill Deutsch
January 29, 2014…OK, so I procrastinated in my monthly monitoring of Hodnett and Saugahatchee Creeks in Lee County (Tallapoosa River Watershed). Because the last day of the month was not an option, I was left with three choices: a) sample today with snow on the ground, b) wait until tomorrow after temperatures are forecasted to plunge to 13 F overnight, or c) the “unthinkable” …skip sampling in January. Trudging through the snow for the first time in 15 years of monthly sampling of Hodnett Creek was fun, and my old Border Collie, Jazz, accompanied me to make sure I didn’t get lost (I made sure she drank out of the creek downstream of where I monitored!). Air temperatures hovered around 1 C, but the water was a toasty 4 C at both sites (record low for my data). Continue reading “Neither Rain, nor Snow, nor Dark of Night…”