Water monitoring class to be held Saturday

WASILLA -- If you're interested in finding out more information about the quality of water in your neighborhood or in tracking the influence development is having on the local watershed, an upcoming training course may be the place to learn more.

Volunteers are still being sought for an upcoming Wasilla Soil and Water Conservation District water-quality monitoring training event, to be held Saturday.

The training event will be held from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., starting in Room 123 at Mat-Su College's Jalmar Kerttula building, said Wasilla's district director Don Jean. Once lab training and orientation is complete, the group will test its skills at a monitoring site.

The training is free of charge, and volunteers will be assigned monitoring stations at one of several testing sites within the Valley's core area. The volunteers will be testing several aspects of the water, including turbidity, or the cloudiness of the water, along with water temperature, air temperature, water pH and other factors. They'll also test for the presence of fecal coliform, as well as for the amount of dissolved oxygen present in the water. Even factors as basic as water temperature, Jean said, can determine whether a stream is a viable habitat for salmon and other aquatic life.

"Salmon won't swim in warm water," Jean said. "If the water is too warm, they may not get to their spawning area."

For more information about volunteering with the district, contact Jean at 357-4563.