Citizen Science in the Muskingum River Watershed, Ohio. Presented at the Ohio Academy of Sciences, April 2012.

2.  Enhanced datasets
 Reliable and engaged
 Baseline and long-term
 Local and immediate
 Leads to Action
Photo by Lew Stamp
LewStampPhotography.com

3. Training Citizen Scientists since 1989……
•Water Temperature
•Secchi Disk Transparency
•Water Color
•Qualitative Assessments

4.  Improved reporting
 Since 2008
 153 Level 1 QDCs
 4 Level 2 QDCs
 1 Level 3 QDC
 On-line data entry
 30 active volunteers
 16 QDCs
 8 with 10+ years
 QA/QC Protocols
 Carl Moore,
CLAM Data Coordinator
Reliable and Long-Term

5. Mesotrophic Eutrophic Hypereutrophic
SD > 78” 20” - 78” SD < 20
earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/WaterQuality/water_quality2.php

6. 0
No Secchi data
No Secchi data
0.5
Secchi Disk Depth (m)
1
Bars = annual median
Dots = monthly mean
1.5
Grass Carp Harvesting
Dredging
2
1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002
YEAR

7.  Level 2 data
› Transparency
› Water temperature
› Water color
› Quality and lake use
 Level 3 data
› Temp. / DO profiles
› Total nutrients
› Total suspended solids
› Chlorophyll a

8. Lake Keepers

9.  Harmful Algal Blooms (HAB)
› Composite samples from shoreline
› Collected by Lake Keepers
› Evaluation of citizen protocol
 BSA Environmental Services, Inc.
› Phytoplankton identification
› Cyanobacteria counts
› Microcystin measurements

10. www.eyesonthewater.org/olms

12.  30 active lakes
› 38 in 2000
› 20 in 2010
 SD: 7.92” – 86.38”
 2 mesotrophic (> 78”)
 13 eutrophic (20”- 78”)
 5 hypereutrophic (<20”)
Secchi Depth Water Color

13.  Range: 2 – 7 (greens)
› Crystal Lake at 1.7
› Roaming Rock at 8.2
 ‘Greener’ with >SD
 Algal turbidity
Secchi Depth Water Color

14. Increasing
Clarity
Decreasing
Clarity

15. Chlorophyll a
Total Phosphorus

16. Total Nitrogen
Total Suspended Solids

17. BSA Environmental Services, Inc.

18. BSA Environmental Services, Inc.
www.bsaenv.com

19. BSA Environmental Services, Inc.
4,000 – 10,000 cells/mL = Minor Bloom
10,000 – 100,000 cells/mL = Moderate Bloom
>100,000 cells/mL = Severe Bloom
ohioalgaeinfo.com

20. Algae Bloom Advisory = Identified
Public Health Advisory = 6 ppb
No Contact Advisory = 20 ppb
ohioalgaeinfo.com

21.  MWCD reservoirs
› n = 9 (no Beach City)
› 23–68% forested Charles
 Sampled: Mill
Atwood
› OLMS: Jun–Sep, bi-weekly Pleasant Leesville
Tappan
› DOW: 1 summer  Intensive Hill Clendening
 Compare samples Wills
Creek
Piedmont
› Pleasant Hill Seneca
› 2010–11
› DOW: 12, OLMS: 12 samples
Compare distributions

› Temp/DO profile data
Contrast DOW &
OLMS data

22. Pleasant Hill
Similar values
Similar trends
Divergent values
No divergent
trends

23. Similar trends
Missing data
30+ d
DO
< 3 mg/L
Divergent profiles
> 5 mo

24.  Eutrophic or hypereutrophic
 Algal driven turbidity
 HABs present as severe blooms
 Toxin health risk low (microcystin)
› Level of Algae Bloom Advisory
 Trends indicated by citizen data

25.  Charles Mill and Wills Creek?
 Another HAB monitoring season
 Test for Cylindrospermopsin toxin

26. Staff, and volunteers Volunteer cultivation,
transparency data,
on-line database
Grant funds Reservoir
management,
community
awareness
Monitoring
equipment, water
analysis, and staff Fisheries management,
program evaluation
In-kind,
and staff Algae characterization

27. www.eyesonthewater.com/olms
www.olms.org