WaterWatch UNIVERSITY OF IDAHO EXTENSION UPDATE

Winter 2015 Volume 5 Issue 1

University of Idaho, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and Idaho counties cooperating.

Highlights

Upcoming events

Call for un-used kits

Summer photos

Improved snapshot data

Coordinated stormwater pollution education

Contact Information

Jim Ekins

Area Water Educator

208-292-1287

jekins@uidaho.edu

Marie Pengilly

IDAH2O Volunteer Coordinator

208-292-2540

mpengilly@uidaho.edu

Idah2o@uidaho.edu

www.uidaho.edu/cda/idah2o

1031 North Academic Way

Suite #242

Coeur d’Alene, Idaho 83814

The University of Idaho is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer and

educational organization. We offer our programs to persons regardless of race,

color, national origin, gender, religion, age, sexual orientation, or disability.

It is dry outside as I write, but was very rainy earlier in the month. Temperatures have

been well above normal. N. Idaho snowpack is about 60% of normal, and has been

melting fast. A combination of rain and warm winds is lethal to snowpack. Under normal

conditions, a rain-on-snow event increases the snowpack’s water content. The rain

soaks into the snow and is captured until it freezes later. This winter has been different.

The snowpack has received all the rain it can hold from earlier storms, and so additional

liquid runs through the snow and runs off into area streams too soon. The water we will

be depending on in summer is flowing into our streams and rivers now.

How does this all relate to IDAH2O this year, you ask? Our volunteer efforts will be

important for monitoring water levels as well as characteristics in our streams and lakes.

Noting when some streams go dry will be important information for hydrologists.

Increases in temperature and reductions in available habitat will place additional

pressures on aquatic life. So noting which macroinvertebrates you catch will also be

important.

On a related note, Marie and I have been very busy with program development and

grant proposal writing. I just submitted a grant to develop a stormwater education

program that will provide robust information about non-point source pollution. Marie

has been working with the Fernan Lake project and also with water use projections and

other aquifer protection efforts. We are working to improve how we process the

phosphorous testing for our snapshots, and my soils test kit comparison and riparian

plant watering comparison projects are moving forward, too.

We are also seeking your perspectives on how the program can be improved and how

we could create a cadre of more-highly-trained Water Stewards who could provide data

using even more sophisticated techniques than we use currently. You may see a survey

in the coming weeks about these questions. As always, feel free to call and write, too.

Happy monitoring!

Sincerely, Jim Ekins

P.S., let me know if you need monitoring kit resupplies!

www.facebook.com/idah2o

Remember! Check your monitoring

kit equipment for expiration dates!

Contact us for replacements.

Seeking Unused Kits As the new monitoring season approaches, it’s important that moni-toring kits are available for new volunteers, and we currently don’t have enough for next year. IDAH2O has always sought external funding to purchase monitoring kits and consumables (pH test strips and DO ampoules), but grant writing takes time away from developing new presentations and programs.

IDAH2O very much needs to collect kits that are not being used. Of course, I would love to find ways to help volunteers get back to moni-toring. However we all experience changes in availability and sched-ules, and I completely understand that sometimes monitoring just needs to be taken off the plate for a year. You will always be a Master Water steward, we will keep you on the email list as long as you would like, and you can always resume active monitoring later.

In the coming weeks, IDAH2O will be actively seeking out kits that aren’t being used. Since they are awkward to mail, we are happy to make arrangements to pick them up from you at a location of your choice. You can always drop them off at a local Extension office (please let me know in advance), or I can arrange for you to drop it off at an-other water-related agency like DEQ or PHD, to make it easier for you. Thanks for your understanding! --Jim

Annual Monitoring Reports

Interested in a water quality report for your

monitoring site? Contact us for an analysis

and report of all your monitoring activity!

Volunteers in Idaho’s five northern

counties have had an opportunity to

help IDAH2O to collect a separate set of

water quality data twice a year during

our Snapshot Events. Master Water

Stewards arrange to collect a grab

sample of water from the monitoring

site. These samples are kept cold and

hand-carried to our Coeur d’Alene Lab.

For volunteers in the Sandpoint and

Moscow areas, Marie and I arrange for

a drop off site for the samples. One of

us then brings the samples back to our

lab in time to start laboratory analysis.

The procedure is outlined on the

IDAH2O QAPP.

These snapshot events have provided

high quality bacteria data, in the form

of Most Probable Number of total

coliform and E. coli bacteria per 100 ml

sample. We use a nationally-accepted

method for this analysis. We also test

for Nitrates and total Phosphorous

using a standardized HACH method.

These data are sent back to each

participant, and are published on our

website.

In consultation with our Advisory

Board, we have found that our

equipment often does not have a

sufficiently low detection limit for

Phosphorous . That is, it is not always

able to provide a statistically accurate

phosphorous reading. Phosphorous is

the limiting nutrient in our lakes and

streams, and even small amounts of

phosphorous increases the risk of toxic

algae blooms, unwanted plant growth,

and low dissolved oxygen for fish.

Therefore, IDAH2O proposes to bring

much greater value to the Snapshot

events by using better lab equipment

to provide better data; data that will be

useful in supporting TMDL nutrient

(Phosphorous) implementation and

assessment. Unfortunately, this much-

improved test will also cost us more.

Even with Extension providing partial

funding, the per-sample cost will

increase to $35. We feel that the value

of the Phosphorous data is so great

that the improvement is worth the

cost.

Please feel free to contact us with

questions, or to let us know what you

think.

Seeking Better Snapshot Event Data story by Jim Ekins

In January, a committee of fifteen representatives from North Idaho and Eastern Washington convened to consider a regional approach to water quality education and outreach. Currently, at least thirty area governments and environmental organizations play some role in educating the public on local water quality issues. Many of these municipalities are faced with mandates [issued by the Environmental Protection Agency] designed to protect water quality through public education. Local educational programs range from K-12 activities in and out of the classroom environment, to high school science projects, to providing Q&A opportunities at community fairs/events. Public outreach can also include water-wise landscaping classes and a variety of water pollution prevention information available online at the click of a mouse. In other areas, clean water-related messages are consistent, clear, and concise, and organizations are easily able to leverage each other’s efforts. There, program branding is cooperative so that people immediately recognize images, slogans, typefaces and, ultimately, the organizations themselves. With help from IDAH2O, the Spokane County Stormwater Utility is leading the charge to begin coordinating these efforts for North Idaho and Eastern Washington. We are hopeful that our communities will enjoy similar benefits to collective regionalization. The committee elected to meet quarterly to discuss ideas and activities. All other interested municipalities, state agencies, and environmental organizations that coordinate water quality education programs in the N. Idaho/E. Washington region are encouraged to join the committee. Check out these other programs as examples: Boise: Partners for Clean Water Western Washington: Puget Sound Partnership Montana: Montana Watercourse

Coordinating Educational Programs Story by Matt Zarecor and Amanda Hess, Spokane County Stormwater Utility

Summer 2015 IDAH2O Workshops

The IDAH2O summer schedule has just been completed!

May 2 (Saturday): Boise, ID (in conjunction with Project WET workshop)

May 9 (Saturday): Driggs, ID

May 30 (Saturday): Sandpoint, ID

July 11 (Saturday): McCall, ID

July 18 (Saturday): Coeur d'Alene, ID

August 1 (Saturday): Moscow, ID

Specifically for your group (eight+ participants)

Hosting Workshops Please contact us if you or your group would like to host an IDAH2O workshop, get more information, or schedule a workshop for your watershed group.

Other scheduled water quality-themed presentations include:

Coeur d’Alene: KEA Lunch and Learn: March 5 12—1 pm, Iron Horse Restaurant, Coeur d’Alene. Topic: Spokane Riverkeeper. Free to attend, open to the public, no RSVP necessary. kealliance.org/calendar/

Boise: Wednesdays in March: 6—8 pm, Library! at Cole & Ustick, 7557 W. Ustick. Tpoic: Free Water Efficient Landscaping Classes. Classes fill quickly. Register: 362-7336 or by e-mail at landscape@unitedwater.com

Water Use Efficiency Tips

Indoors: Rainy, soggy day outside? Try a fun indoor

scavenger hunt: find leaks and fix them. Add a little food coloring to the toilet tank and wait a few minutes to see if any makes its way down to the bowl. Drippy faucets can often be fixed by replacing the faucet cartridge, usually found at your local hardware store. Where can your sleuthing find ways to not waste water?

Outdoors: This time of year does not typically see

high outdoor water use, but it’s a great time to start planning for summer. Check your garden hoses for bad gaskets and replace; they are inexpensive at the local hardware store. Hose has a hole in it? Cut out the bad part and insert new replacement hose fittings, again found for a few dollars at the hardware store. Start gathering some clean, empty tuna or cat food cans to help you measure your lawn and garden watering.

CDA Earth Day Fair 2015 Protect Our Gem! This is the theme of Coeur d’Alene’s 15th annual Earth Day celebration. Earth Day is a family event that focuses on celebrating the miraculous balance of our planet and our role in maintaining it while offering the community Earth-friendly alternatives for everyday living. Enjoy live music, art, presentations, children’s activities, yoga and countless other activities while learning creative ways you and your family can make a difference in caring for our planet. This year we have a new addition to our festivities, a family fun run. This will be a fun run with a twist. Runners will have to carry water half way around the course while running. This is to help them understand what great lengths most people of the world have go to get their water everyday. The celebration is from Noon to 3 PM on Saturday April 18th at the Coeur d’Alene Library. Admission is free!

UNIVERSITY OF IDAHO EXTENSION UPDATE

WaterWatch

2014 Remembered

The 2014 monitoring season saw another big increase of 84 trained

Master Water Stewards. IDAH2O Stewards are now monitoring over a

hundred sites in 45 HUC-12 watersheds. We also held two Snapshot

events and tested over 40 sites for nutrients and bacteria. The

IDAH2O online map and data collection site is up and running. A

second emphasis was created for the program; that is to train K-12

teachers (38 across the state!) in the water quality monitoring

protocol. These teachers then bring the water science and

monitoring to their students, creating a new generation of water

stewards. And, Marie Pengilly gained a lot of additional responsibility

by joining the Community Water Resources Center at U-Idaho Coeur

d’Alene as Program Coordinator. She is, of course, still the IDAH2O

Volunteer Coordinator, too.

A huge thank you to all of our Master Water Stewards

and program supporters for a great year!

Looking back at 2014...

Call for Unused Kits!

Do you have an IDAH2O monitoring kit collecting dust?

If you find that, for whatever reason, you are unable to

monitor for us at this time, please contact us about

returning your kit. We do have limited funds so we

need to make sure our kits are being used as much as

possible.