March 29, 2024

DNR to hold volunteer water quality monitoring workshop

DES MOINES — IOWATER, Iowa’s statewide volunteer water quality monitoring program, will host an Introductory IOWATER Workshop 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. April 30 at Clarke County Development Corporation, 115 E. Washington St., in Osceola.

During the one-day workshop classroom instruction will be combined with hands-on training as participants learn how to monitor and assess the quality of their local streams, rivers, and lakes. IOWATER emphasizes a perspective based on the “watershed,” or the area of land that drains into a body of water and what citizens can do to protect and improve local water bodies.

Water quality monitoring includes physical, chemical, biological and habitat assessments. These workshops will focus on physical assessments which document the physical attributes of a waterbody, such as temperature and water clarity; chemical testing that includes pH, nitrogen, phosphate, chloride and dissolved oxygen monitoring; and habitat assessments that document the suitability of water bodies to sustain aquatic life.

If they choose to do so, volunteers may submit their data to an online database via the IOWATER website, www.iowadnr.gov/iowater. Anyone can view data submitted by volunteers, but only certified IOWATER volunteers can enter data.

The Osceola IOWATER workshop is being sponsored by the Southern Iowa Resource Conservation and Development (RC&D) Area. Registration fees for meals and testing equipment will be paid for all participants by the RC&D. The deadline for registration is April 29.

For more information or to register, please visit www.iowadnr.gov/iowater and click on "Calendar of Events."