By Jessica Helm, Conservation Chair
I first wrote in the Spring, 2010, issue of the Sierra Atlantic of our plan to help teams of volunteers adopt streams and gather baseline data on water quality to better defend against pollution from gas drilling. I’m pleased to tell you that a year-and-a-half later our first training has been held and that 10 teams will begin gathering baseline data in January (see sidebar). This is only the beginning of our work, and we need your help to grow this effort.
To hold a training and launch testing in a new area, we need the following pieces in place:
• A university lab to oversee quality control. When each team begins testing, the lab receives a sample of water and tests it, then compares the lab results with the field results to make sure people and equipment are working properly. The lab also tests samples from each team taken from high-flow and low-flow stream levels, and prepares and sends samples to a certified lab for barium and strontium analysis. In total, 2-3 samples are processed per year per stream site.
• Funds to pay for test kits, certified lab tests, and training materials. This totals $200 per team of two, and only $20 per stream site per year after the first year. One training of 20 volunteers requires $2000.
•20 volunteers interested in wading into streams once or twice a month to attend training. Ideally an organizer offers to get 20 volunteers to attend a training and sets up the site and date.
• A Water Sentinels chair. The first training worked out a lot of the difficult details for adapting the alarm protocol to New York, but for this program to really develop in multiple locations we need a dedicated volunteer to oversee it.
If you want to bring testing to your area or want to support the testing effort in general, decide which of the above program requirements you can help with and jump in—the water is fine (for now)!
What you can do
If you would like to become a water monitor, contact Geri Aird (geri@aird.us) or donate online to help purchase test kits, training materials, etc. To support our water testing activities with a tax deductible donation, send a check payable to the Sierra Club Foundation. On the memo line, write “Atlantic Chapter Fracking Project,” or “FC4356.” Mail the check to the Sierra Club Atlantic Chapter, PO Box 886, Syosset, NY 11791-0886.