Fifteen years ago, Nanticoke Watershed Alliance began collecting water-quality monitoring data that Delaware and Maryland, and the Chesapeake Bay Program could use to track progress or decline in meeting pollution limits. Along with following rigorous scientific methods and obtaining high-quality data, our other key program goal was to not only involve volunteers but to make them the very heart of the program.
While many watershed organizations collect water-quality data, most of them do not rely upon a well-trained, energetic volunteer corps to gather water samples, make observations and take measurements directly in local waterways. Creekwatchers Program is one of the few Tier 3 volunteer monitoring programs in the Chesapeake Bay region. Tier 3 is the highest level achievable by a volunteer monitoring program; that certification means that data collected by our community scientists can be used by government agencies for policy and management decisions, which increases the value of their volunteer service. Nanticoke Watershed Alliance also uses the data Creekwatchers collect to track trends in the watershed, to target specific areas for restoration and outreach, and to create annual report cards. Our most recent, the 2020 report card, can be viewed at our website under creekwatcher reports.
The Nanticoke River watershed has some of the most pristine waterways in the Chesapeake Bay. Endangered Atlantic sturgeon still return to the Marshyhope Creek to spawn, and every summer, wild celery’s generous green ribbons undulate just below the crystal-clear Nanticoke River, northeast of Seaford.
Unfortunately, the watershed also has its share of water-quality issues, especially problems caused by excessive nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus). While naturally occurring, excessive amounts of nutrients cause a range of problems — especially algal blooms in the summer and all the problems that arise from them. Some of these are harmful algal blooms (or HABs) and create potential health risks or cause fish kills as algae decomposes and bacteria takes up available oxygen. Toxic blue- green algae (or cyanobacteria) appears every year in local ponds. Cyanobacteria can cause illness in humans and death in dogs who come into contact with waters polluted by it. Algae blooms cause our waters to become murkier, which can make life tough for the many living critters in our river, including river grasses, freshwater mussels, fish and, in the lower Nanticoke, oysters.
Being able to directly engage residents and community through the Creekwatchers Program is just as important as collecting incredibly valuable data. The report card gives us a means of connecting, and Creekwatchers become river ambassadors, learning about water-quality issues and sometimes answering questions about water quality at public access points that are monitoring stations or in their communities.
Nanticoke Watershed Alliance is a member of the Chesapeake Monitoring Cooperative. After completion of each season, we upload the year’s data to the Chesapeake Data Explorer, a warehouse of data collected by nontraditional (or volunteer) monitoring programs. Nanticoke Creekwatchers data since 2017 may be viewed or downloaded at the Chesapeake Data Explorer site (cmc.vims.edu); that data is also occasionally synced to the Chesapeake Bay Program’s DataHub service (data.chesapeakebay.net/waterquality). (Data collected prior to 2017 is available upon request.)
Every year, Nanticoke Watershed Alliance asks new community scientists to join the team. By helping us track waterway health, our volunteers meet new people, learn how to collect water-quality data and samples, and get to adopt and take ownership of their local waterways. They connect with their sites, discovering and enjoying the wildlife and plants that inhabit those waterways at different times of the year.
Our sites are all foot-accessible, and most have been part of our program since 2008, so Creekwatchers do not need to live on a waterway. Nanticoke Watershed Alliance also provides all equipment necessary to Creekwatchers, along with in-depth training and ongoing support. Students aged 13 and older are welcome to participate with an adult.
Since 2008, over 140 community scientists have invested just over 18,000 hours in support of our program, a value of over $514,000. The Creekwatchers Program has followed an Environmental Protection Agency-approved methodology since 2009 and achieved Tier 3 certification in 2017.
If you are interested in joining the Nanticoke Creekwatchers team in 2022, please contact bethwasden@nanticokeriver.org or sign up for training at our website (nanticokeriver.org/2022cw). I hope to see you on the river!
Beth Wasden is the volunteer and outreach coordinator at the Nanticoke Watershed Alliance. She has managed the Creekwatchers Program since 2011.
