And its citizens lead the way in helping state natural resource managers keep track of this watery wealth, including:
- More than 1,000 volunteers monitor lakes across Wisconsin for through the Citizen Lake Monitoring Network.
- More than 300 citizens test local streams, including 60 teachers who engage their students, through the Wisconsin Action Volunteers program.
- More than 171 educators in 2010 received hands-on lessons about aquatic resources from DNR educators certified to present the Project Wet curriculum; these educators in turn estimated they'd reach 36,600 students with the lessons.
"Wisconsin's lucky to have so many citizens helping keep track of what's going on in our waters," says Ken Johnson, who leads water programs for the Department of Natural Resources. "World Water Monitoring Day shines a spotlight on the importance of monitoring and the people who do it."
Through WAV and Clean Lakes Monitoring Network, DNR and UWEX supply citizens with the training and equipment to conduct the monitoring. Volunteers feed their information into databases.
The water quality information volunteers collect is used in many ways, says Kris Stepenuck, who coordinates the Water Action Volunteers program for DNR and UWEX. Uses range from feeding into Wisconsin's required report to Congress on the condition of its waters, to helping determine whether a particular lake or river needs to be considered for inclusion on the state's "impaired" waters list, to inclusion in various state and national studies assessing water quality.
