1. National Monitoring Conference May 10, 2006 Westchester County Department of Planning http://cvmp.westchestergov.com/cvmp Westchester County Citizens’ Volunteer Monitoring Program Susan Darling, Environmental Planner Westchester County Department of Planning Supported by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation http://cvmp.westchestergov.com/cvmp/ May 2006

2. National Monitoring Conference May 10, 2006 Westchester County Department of Planning http://cvmp.westchestergov.com/cvmp Westchester County, New York New York City Westchester County is located just north of New York City Westchester

3. National Monitoring Conference May 10, 2006 Westchester County Department of Planning http://cvmp.westchestergov.com/cvmp Westchester County Citizens’ Volunteer Monitoring Program (WCCVMP) New York State Department of Environmental Conservation grant New York State Department of Environmental Conservation grant Natural Resources Conservation Service Natural Resources Conservation Service Westchester County Soil and Water Conservation District Westchester County Soil and Water Conservation District

4. National Monitoring Conference May 10, 2006 Westchester County Department of Planning http://cvmp.westchestergov.com/cvmp Westchester County Citizens’ Volunteer Monitoring Program (WCCVMP) Goal is to establish a County-wide monitoring program with the following components: Goal is to establish a County-wide monitoring program with the following components:  River and Stream Monitors  Lake Monitors (2004)  Monitoring Networks  Online Database

5. National Monitoring Conference May 10, 2006 Westchester County Department of Planning http://cvmp.westchestergov.com/cvmp WCCVMP Mission Create a historical baseline of water quality information throughout Westchester County Create a historical baseline of water quality information throughout Westchester County Connect communities with their water resources through education and hands on involvement Connect communities with their water resources through education and hands on involvement Allow public access to water quality monitoring information for educational purposes Allow public access to water quality monitoring information for educational purposes

6. National Monitoring Conference May 10, 2006 Westchester County Department of Planning http://cvmp.westchestergov.com/cvmp Volunteers 17 stream sites in 2005 17 stream sites in 2005 80 adult volunteers 80 adult volunteers 5 high school monitoring teams 5 high school monitoring teams

7. National Monitoring Conference May 10, 2006 Westchester County Department of Planning http://cvmp.westchestergov.com/cvmp Stream Monitoring Data  Chemical  Physical  Biological

8. National Monitoring Conference May 10, 2006 Westchester County Department of Planning http://cvmp.westchestergov.com/cvmp Physical Conditions Surrounding Land Use and Riparian Zone Surrounding Land Use and Riparian Zone Channels, Banks, and Substrate Channels, Banks, and Substrate Temperature Temperature Weather Weather Stream Size Stream Size Water Appearance Water Appearance Algae Algae Flow Flow Litter Litter

9. National Monitoring Conference May 10, 2006 Westchester County Department of Planning http://cvmp.westchestergov.com/cvmp Chemical Conditions pH pH Alkalinity Alkalinity Salinity Salinity Nitrate-Nitrogen Nitrate-Nitrogen Orthophosphate Orthophosphate Dissolved Oxygen Dissolved Oxygen Conductivity Conductivity Turbidity Turbidity

10. National Monitoring Conference May 10, 2006 Westchester County Department of Planning http://cvmp.westchestergov.com/cvmp Biological Conditions Mayflies Mayflies Stoneflies Stoneflies Caddisflies Caddisflies Aquatic Beetles Aquatic Beetles Aquatic Worms Aquatic Worms

11. National Monitoring Conference May 10, 2006 Westchester County Department of Planning http://cvmp.westchestergov.com/cvmp Stream Monitoring Volunteers monitor one site Volunteers monitor one site Data is collected weekly from April- October (potential for winter monitoring) Data is collected weekly from April- October (potential for winter monitoring)

12. National Monitoring Conference May 10, 2006 Westchester County Department of Planning http://cvmp.westchestergov.com/cvmp WCCVMP Water Website at http://cvmp.westchestergov.com/cvmp/http://cvmp.westchestergov.com/cvmp/ “Discover” “Discover”  the educational component “Explore” “Explore”  the data manipulation component Online Database Online Database

13. National Monitoring Conference May 10, 2006 Westchester County Department of Planning http://cvmp.westchestergov.com/cvmp First website View First website View

14. National Monitoring Conference May 10, 2006 Westchester County Department of Planning http://cvmp.westchestergov.com/cvmp Online Database Central location to store data Central location to store data Public access to data Public access to data Display and analyze data Display and analyze data  Charts  Graphs  Maps  Export to Microsoft Excel

15. National Monitoring Conference May 10, 2006 Westchester County Department of Planning http://cvmp.westchestergov.com/cvmp Volunteers receive a Login ID and Password that allows them to enter monitoring results only for their assigned stream stretch sites Volunteers receive a Login ID and Password that allows them to enter monitoring results only for their assigned stream stretch sites Automatically screens for extreme outliers Automatically screens for extreme outliers Data must be entered twice to eliminate typing errors Data must be entered twice to eliminate typing errors Quality Assurance Project Plan Quality Assurance Project Plan Quality Assurance

16. National Monitoring Conference May 10, 2006 Westchester County Department of Planning http://cvmp.westchestergov.com/cvmp Uploading Data User-friendly data entry forms User-friendly data entry forms Individualized training sessions Individualized training sessions Responding to volunteer feedback Responding to volunteer feedback

17. National Monitoring Conference May 10, 2006 Westchester County Department of Planning http://cvmp.westchestergov.com/cvmp

18. National Monitoring Conference May 10, 2006 Westchester County Department of Planning http://cvmp.westchestergov.com/cvmp Uploading Data

19. National Monitoring Conference May 10, 2006 Westchester County Department of Planning http://cvmp.westchestergov.com/cvmp

20. National Monitoring Conference May 10, 2006 Westchester County Department of Planning http://cvmp.westchestergov.com/cvmp

21. National Monitoring Conference May 10, 2006 Westchester County Department of Planning http://cvmp.westchestergov.com/cvmp

22. National Monitoring Conference May 10, 2006 Westchester County Department of Planning http://cvmp.westchestergov.com/cvmp WCCVMP Water Website “Explore” Select Table Data Select Table Data View Interactive Maps View Interactive Maps Create Charts and Graphs Create Charts and Graphs  Pie  Bar  Line Calculate Simple Statistics Calculate Simple Statistics  Linear Regression  t-test

23. National Monitoring Conference May 10, 2006 Westchester County Department of Planning http://cvmp.westchestergov.com/cvmp Select Data

24. National Monitoring Conference May 10, 2006 Westchester County Department of Planning http://cvmp.westchestergov.com/cvmp

25. National Monitoring Conference May 10, 2006 Westchester County Department of Planning http://cvmp.westchestergov.com/cvmp

26. National Monitoring Conference May 10, 2006 Westchester County Department of Planning http://cvmp.westchestergov.com/cvmp Graphs

27. National Monitoring Conference May 10, 2006 Westchester County Department of Planning http://cvmp.westchestergov.com/cvmp Questions?

28. Susan Darling sad8@westchestergov.com (914) 995-6535 http://cvmp.westchestergov.com/cvmp Westchester County Department of Planning Gerard E. Mulligan, AICP, Commissioner Westchester County Citizens’ Volunteer Monitoring Program A Presentation at the 2006 National Monitoring Conference San Jose, California May 10, 2006