Help Wanted: URI Watershed Watch seeks monitors for lakes, ponds, & streams

KINGSTON, R.I. -- March 8, 1999 -- Do you love your lake? Are you proud of your pond? Are you concerned about the water quality of your favorite fishing spot? Why not join the University of Rhode Island Watershed Watch Program!

This year,s classroom training session will be held on: Sat. March 27, 9:30 to noon, Room 275 Chafee Hall, URI Kingston. In addition to the classroom session, volunteers will need to attend a field training session on Saturday, April 17 or Saturday, May 1.

To qualify, you must value the state,s freshwater resources and want to help preserve them. Since ponds and lakes are monitored at their deepest point, a boat, canoe, or kayak is needed, as well as some free time in the middle of the day.

The 12-year-old program, sponsored by the University of Rhode Island,s Cooperative Extension, currently has 250 volunteers who monitor approximately 74 locations. With new funding from the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management, Watershed Watch is planning to add 10 new lakes this year, so it is likely that your favorite lake, pond or river needs a volunteer monitor! See attached list for locations that need monitors.

By carefully and consistently monitoring the water and recording results, Watershed Watch volunteers provide a valuable service. If something begins to go wrong, these citizen watchdogs sound an alarm so a small problem doesn,t become a catastrophic one.

Volunteers come from all walks of life, ages, occupations, educational backgrounds, and interests. URI personnel under the direction of Linda Green and Elizabeth Herron, coordinators of the University of Rhode Island Watershed Watch program train volunteers in the classroom and at field sites.

The monitoring season begins in late April and ends in late October. Each week on the day of their choice, volunteers monitor for water clarity between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Every two weeks, they monitor water temperature, algae concentration, and dissolved oxygen. Three times a year, the volunteers collect water samples that are analyzed at URI for nutrients, acidity, and bacteria.

Anyone interested in more information or in volunteering should contact Linda Green or Elizabeth Herron at 874-2905, or by email at uriww@etal.uri.edu.

Municipality Location

Barrington Brickyard Pond**

Prince,s Pond***

Burrillville Nichols Pond*

Sucker Pond*

Tarkiln Pond*

Spring Lake***

Charlestown Quonochontaug Pond**

Coventry Upper Dam Pond*

Waterman Pond (aka Sisson Pond)*

Coventry Reservoir (aka Stump Pond)**

Quidnick Reservoir**

Flat River Reservoir***

Cranston Mashapaug Pond*

Spectacle Pond*

Exeter Boone Lake***

Queen River**

Foster Clark Pond*

Glocester Keech Pond**

Coomber,s Reservoir**

Spring Grove Pond**

Smith & Sayles Reservoir***

Hopkinton Grassy Pond*

Wincheck Pond*

Locustville***

Lincoln Scott Pond*

Little Compton Quick Sand Pond***

Johnston Almy Reservoir*

Hawkins Pond (Reservoir)*

Oak Swamp Reservoir*

Narragansett Narrow River**

North Kingstown Narrow River**

Silver Spring Lake**

Upper Belleville Pond***

Richmond Beaver River **

Wyoming Pond**

Alton Pond***

Smithfield Waterman Pond**

Georgiaville Pond***

Slack,s Reservoir***

Stillwater Reservoir***

Woonasquatucket Reservoir***

South Kingstown Indian Lake**

Narrow River**

Tucker Pond**

Worden Pond**

Barber Pond***

Glen Rock Reservoir***

Hundred Acre Pond***

Long Pond***

Saugatucket Pond***

Wash Pond***

Yawgoo Pond***

Tiverton Stafford Pond***

Warwick Gorton Pond**

Sand Pond**

Warwick Pond***

W. Greenwich Carr Pond*

Tarbox Pond*

Tillinghast Pond*

Tippencansett Pond*

Wickaboxet Pond*

Mishnock Lake***

Westerly Pawcatuck River**

• New locations where volunteers are needed.

*** Partners for current volunteers needed.

For More Information: Linda Green, 874-2905