Volunteers needed for water monitoring program

MAT-SU -- Interested in finding out more about the quality of area streams and rivers?

Wasilla Soil and Water Conservation District is hosting its annual volunteer picnic Saturday, Sept. 11, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., at the red pavilion at Wasilla Wonderland, located at the east end of Iditapark on Nelson Street.

The picnic, which will feature free food, drinks and door prizes, is open to current Wasilla Soil and Water Conservation District volunteers, along with people interested in finding out more about volunteering and those who would like to know more about the quality of water in local streams and rivers.

"We invite prospective volunteers to come to the picnic and meet the volunteers who are on board right now," said Don Jean, who recently was selected to serve as the Soil and Water Conservation District's director.

Jean said he plans to focus on building up the water-monitoring program, and hopes a new group of volunteers will help the team move in new directions, such as testing at new sites along Fish Creek and Lucille Creek near Big Lake. The group currently tests 13 sites along the Little Susitna River and Cottonwood Creek, and Jean said he hopes to add seven sites, but the group needs new volunteers to expand.

"Volunteers are essential for this program," Jean said. "We'll provide the technical expertise, but we need volunteers to do it."

Volunteers sample water at the sites twice a month in summer months and once during winter. Jean said he'd like to have two people, preferably a couple, available to test each site, to guarantee consistent testing.

Testing takes a total of about four hours, and involves taking a sample of water, measuring the temperature of the water and the air, taking notes on the current weather and performing several tests to analyze dissolved oxygen, pH and clarity of the water being tested.

Information about the testing will be available at the volunteer picnic, Jean said, and a training session for new volunteers will be held the following Saturday, Sept. 18, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

A site for the training is still being secured, Jean said, and people interested in volunteering may call Jean for more information at 357-4563 or stop by the Wasilla Soil and Water Conservation District office at 191 E. Swanson, Suite 101, in Wasilla.

Contact Rindi White at rindi.white@frontiersman.com.