Learn more about our citizen scientist water quality monitoring program.Interactive Data Map
Program Purpose and Goals
The Euclid Creek Volunteer Monitoring Program started in 2005 as a partnership with Cuyahoga Community College Eastern Campus, Ohio EPA and John Carroll University. The mission of citizen monitoring is to produce valid environmental data, which is needed to aid in the assessment and protection of Ohio's watersheds and aquatic resources. Citizen monitoring will also inform and engage the community in effective watershed stewardship. In addition, citizen monitors build awareness of water quality issues, aquatic resources and pollution prevention.
Sampling is a very important aspect in identifying specific contaminants or problems in the watershed. The Euclid Creek Volunteer Monitoring Program (ECVMP) began collecting data in 2006 to characterize the basic water chemistry of the Euclid Creek Watershed sampling at five sites in the watershed on a monthly bases. The physical and chemical water quality parameters chosen for analysis/monitoring allow for seasonal watershed changes and track changes that occur in the watershed from year to year.
The core of the ECVMP is the monthly collection/analysis of water samples by trained citizens and students. The collected data is used for the purposes of public awareness and educational activities. Results are also used for early warning so that if alarming results are found at a site, it is reported to the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (Ohio EPA) for follow up. Volunteer monitors are critical to the program by reporting issues like elevated sediment levels observed in the creek from upstream construction projects. Without these observations, important issues might not be caught in time to investigate the problem.
This website serves as a central repository for the data collected as part of the ECVMP and other water quality (chemical and biological) data collected from the Euclid Creek Watershed by local groups, schools and colleges (these need to be submitted by those groups to the Watershed Program Manager). ECVMP data will also be shared with the Euclid Creek Watershed Council, Friends of Euclid Creek, local schools and universities and local, regional and state agencies for general watershed assessment purposes. The data will be useful in providing information for watershed management and pollution prevention. Data will be made available to the public for the purposes of watershed education and to the regulatory and resource management agencies to supplement existing information.
Where Do We Monitor:
We monitor 7 sites throughout the watershed - click here to see all of the sites: Monitoring Locations Site Map
How Do I Sign Up to Become a Volunteer?
Becoming a volunteer water monitor is easy. No prior experience is required. You will receive training on water sampling and performing the physical and chemical analyses. Once you have been trained, you're ready to start collecting/monitoring. Make sure that you have read the important Volunteer Documents under the "Facts" tab above and then call the watershed program manager (see contact information below) to see what sites and days are available for monitoring, and to reserve a set of equipment. On that day get the equipment from one of our Cleveland Metroparks storage locations, and take it to one of the seven monitoring sites (See map and pictures in slideshow or view factsheets on each site under the "Facts" tab) in the watershed. Collect a water sample and analyze it for a number of parameters that will help to determine the water quality and health of the watershed. You will then return the water samples, the equipment, and a completed data sheet back to Cleveland Metroparks storage location. The data you collected will be posted to the website and will be used by a number of agencies and groups for watershed management and pollution prevention.
If you or your group are interested in participating in the program to help us collect even more useful data, please contact the Watershed Coordinator.
**Schools should contact the Watershed Coordinator to provide data to include on the website (email mhennessey@cuyahogaswcd.org)
To Sign Up to Monitor a site, please contact:
Meg Hennessey, Watershed Coordinator - Cuyahoga Soil and Water Conservation District
3311 Perkins Ave., Suite 100, Cleveland, Ohio 44114
Phone: 216-524-6580 x1004; E-mail: mhennessey@cuyahogaswcd.org
Funders
Thank you to the OSU Extension Watershed Team & CREES Great Lakes Regional Water Quality Program for funding to start the monitoring program in 2005 and to purchase our first set of monitoring equipment.
And thank you to the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District and Friends of Euclid Creek for funding the purchase of the second set of monitoring equipment and maintenance of the equipment through the Watershed Operating Support Grant.
Thank you to Cleveland Metroparks Watershed Stewardship center for funding the purchase of a third kit for monitoring.
Euclid Creek Volunteer Monitoring Program Advisory Committee:
Mary K. Evans, Volunteer Monitor
Mike Nichols, Chemistry Associate Professor, John Carroll
Kimberly Ochs, Biology Assistant Professor, Tri-C Eastern Campus
Sarah Preston, Chemistry Assistant Professor, Ursuline College
Lou Rifici, Environmental Scientist & Biology Assistant Professor, Tri-C Eastern Campus
Michael Rowan, Biology Associate Professor, Tri-C Eastern Campus
Judy Santmire, Biology Assistant Professor, Notre Dame College
Bill Zawiski, Environmental Supervisor, Ohio EPA
Meg Hennessey, Watershed Coordinator, Cuyahoga SWCD (Program Manager)
What is being Monitored?
Physical and chemical water quality parameters monitored were chosen based on water quality issues identified by Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (Ohio EPA) in the 2005 Euclid Creek Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) report. This report identifies sources of pollution in Euclid Creek and provides recommendations for reducing pollution load and taking actions needed to restore Euclid Creek - for a summary of the TMDL report and Euclid Creek water quality findings, click here. This report was done in tandem with the Euclid Creek Watershed Action Plan, the master plan setting goals for establishing stewardship activities to protect, restore and manage the watershed. These documents may be found here.
Data is collected 'real-time', which is monitoring and collecting water in a container that is then sent to someone else for evaluation. In our case, Lou Rifici is our expert who reviews the accuracy of the data collected and in some cases identifies equipment malfunctions.
The physical and chemical parameters being monitored through the Euclid Creek Volunteer Monitoring Program are as follows:
- Basic stream observations: Monitor rainfall, debris, vegetation present, temperature and other factors contributing to water quality.
- Dissolved Oxygen: The slow diffusion of oxygen into the water is affected by temperature and decomposition rates at the bottom of a water source and is crucial to the health of aquatic life.
- Turbidity: A measure of water clarity. Increased turbidity blocks sunlight to vegetation and threatens bottom dwelling organisms.
- pH: An essential indicator of aquatic health and is the measurement of hydrogen ion activity on a scale of 0-14. Above or below ideal pH of 6.5-8.2, fish and vegetation become threatened.
- Ammonia: High nitrogen levels can negatively affect habitat for aquatic organisms. High levels of ammonia are toxic to aquatic life.
- Phosphate: High phosphate levels, which result from fertilizer runoff, can stimulate rapid algal growth which can threaten water quality.
- Conductivity: Reveals the amount of dissolved materials in the water and the salinity which increases during the winter months due to road salt and can cause water quality issues. High levels of conductivity cause considerable stress to and even death of aquatic life.
What Equipment Do We Use?
- DO Field Kit (YSI Pro 20i): to monitor dissolved oxygen
- Turbidity / Sediment Stick: measures 'cloudiness' or 'muddiness' of water
- pH meter (Hach Pocket Pro+): measures pH, salinity, conductivity, TDS of water
- Field Colorimeter (HACH DR/900): measures TSS, ammonia and phosphate
Where are We Monitoring in the Watershed?
Important Volunteer Monitor Documents / Monitoring Protocols
There are a number of documents that volunteer monitors should read before beginning. These will be given to you during your training session and copies are included with the equipment. If you need additional copies, you can download them below. These files are Adobe Acrobat files, click here to download the free Adobe Acrobat Reader
Data & Reports:
Interactive Map of Data
Euclid Creek's Stream Gage - from USGS stream gage at Wildwood Park. Data collected includes stream height, water turbidity, pH, etc.
Euclid Creek Volunteer Monitoring Report Update - 2006-2014
Monitoring Program Raw Data PDF - Click to download pdf file with raw data from May 2006 to December 2019
Ohio EPA Monitoring Report, 2006-2009 - Bill Zawiski of Ohio EPA analyzed data collected from the five sampling sites from 2006 through 2009 by area college and high school students and volunteers.
Monitoring Data Collected from 2006-2009
From 2006-9, nearly 40 volunteers were trained to collect chemical information to test such measures as turbidity, pH, dissolved oxygen and other parameters easily collected by volunteers. In addition, many schools and colleges have taken, and continue to take their students out monitoring in the creek like Ursuline, Notre Dame, Tri-C East, John Carroll and Collinwood High School. Volunteers monitor five sites throughout the watershed on a monthly basis. The goal of the data collection is to educate citizens about the importance of Euclid Creek, to understand its impairments, and to determine the types of pollution entering the creek and to gauge how the stream is doing over time.
Water quality data collected by volunteers mirrored impairments identified in the Euclid Creek TMDL, a report conducted by Ohio EPA to quantify water quality problems in Euclid Creek. The fact that we are collecting usable data capable of showing trends is extremely exciting and all of the dedicated volunteers and partners should be commended. Volunteers made over 2000 observations about the creek and results were consistent across the watershed, meaning that no point-source issues like sewage plant discharge had occurred. Conductivity is a measure associated with sodium and chloride from salting roads in winter. Levels were elevated in winter months and began decreasing in spring, showing direct impacts to the stream from municipal deicing operations on roadways. Turbidity measures the clarity of the water which is affected by urban runoff and erosion /sedimentation, problems common in urban streams. High levels are detrimental to fish species and diversity. No one site had high levels of turbidity, which can be an indicator of construction happening upstream. The last measures analyzed were two nutrient elements, nitrogen and phosphorus, which were chosen to represent impacts associated with human activities such as fertilizer, yard runoff, and dog/goose/human waste. Phosphorous levels were above target levels which can cause algae blooms, and ammonia levels were below Ohio’s water quality standards which is encouraging as ammonia is toxic to fish and aquatic organisms. Click here for the full report prepared by Bill Zawiski of Ohio EPA.
2006-2014 Monitoring Report Update: Two interns, Wade Peerman and Joe Higgins, compiled the following monitoring report update for the Euclid Creek Watershed program. Click here for the full report.
2019 Water Quality Monitoring Party Presentation
2020 Water Quality Monitoring Party Presentation
If you or your group are interested in participating in the program to help us collect even more useful data, please contact the Watershed Coordinator.
Euclid Creek Volunteer Monitoring Report Update - 2006-2014
Euclid Creek's Stream Gage - Data collected includes stream height, water turbidity, pH, etc.
Monitoring Program Raw Data - Click to download Excel file with raw data and annual data alnalsysi from May 2006 to November 2019
Monitoring Program Spatial Analysis - Click to download Excel file with spatial analysis of monitoring parameters from May 2006 to November 2019
Ohio EPA Monitoring Report, 2006-2009 - Bill Zawiski of Ohio EPA analyzed data collected from the five sampling sites from 2006 through 2009 by area college and high school students and volunteers.
