Volunteer Water Information Network |
Volunteer Water Information Network
The VWIN is extremely cost effective because samples are taken by community volunteers and analysis is conducted by advanced undergraduate researchers under faculty supervision. Local, trained volunteers are responsible for collection and delivery of samples, and analysis is provided at low cost by the University of North Carolina at Asheville/Environmental Quality Institute laboratories using EPA-certified laboratory analysis methods. The laboratory conducts analysis for a variety of parameters including pH, alkalinity, turbidity, suspended solids, conductivity, nutrients, and heavy metals. Annual statistical analyses are provided by the University to all interested groups and citizens. In addition, monthly data summaries are provided to the funding organizations. This program has been highly successful in identifying and quantifying point and non-point sources of pollutants, and the information developed has been used extensively by local governments, environmental groups, commercial interests and private citizens. It has been particularly useful in providing baseline data for streams with significant water quality problems. This information has been used extensively and successfully by groups seeking grant funding for water quality improvement projects. In addition to providing water quality analysis for monthly monitoring programs carried out by local governments and environmental groups, the VWIN program has collaborated with several local governmental and private agencies to provide analyses for waterways of special concern, and to provide analyses on the effectiveness of stormwater BMP’s. These projects have concentrated on determining baseline and stormflow above-below project site levels of sediment, bacteria, nutrients, and heavy metals. The extensive data from the VWIN program has also provided insight into the short and long-term effects on local waterways of three hurricanes that passed through Western North Carolina in September 2004. Current research also focuses on the relationship between land use, land gradient, and water quality with special concerns related to steep-slope development. With the growing citizen interest in the quality of local water resources and frequent shortage of funding for watershed monitoring, this program provides a creative approach to developing reliable water resource information at minimal cost. The Environmental Quality Institute welcomes the opportunity to provide this laboratory and data analysis support to any interested group in the Southeast United States.
Marilyn Westphal
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The Volunteer Water Information Network (VWIN) was initiated in January 1990 to provide monitoring of the French Broad River watershed in Buncombe County, North Carolina. Since that time, the program has expanded from 27 sites in one North Carolina county to over 250 sites on streams, rivers, and lakes in North Carolina and beyond. Sampling is carried out monthly at most sites.