Outreach – Volunteer

The Metropolitan Council’s Citizen Assisted Monitoring Program, or CAMP, is an opportunity for citizens to become more aware of the lakes in their communities.   Volunteers monitor their lake every other week from April through October.  The process takes a maximum of two hours a session.  The Commission, through CAMP, provides training and all supplies and equipment.  Volunteers provide their time, a boat, and freezer space to store their water samples for short periods of time.  No special skills are required other than the ability to handle a boat.  Volunteers collect water samples, record water temperature and Secchi depth, and record their observations about lake appearance, odor, and suitability for recreation. 

Water Resources – Macroinvertebrate Monitoring (River Watch)

In 1995 the Commission worked with the Hennepin Conservation District (HCD) to initiate a benthic macroinvertebrate monitoring program.  River Watch, as this program is now called, is used both for education and data collection. It is a goal of the Commission to sustain existing monitoring sites, gain water quality data, and promote river stewardship through teaching and project participation by students. In 2003 this program came under the guidance of the Hennepin County Department of Environmental Services. Currently, students from seven schools monitor at seven locations in the Elm Creek watershed.

2005 Hennepin County River Watch Results, available from Hennepin County Department of Environmental Services, includes results from all the Hennepin County monitoring sites.  Excerpts from the River Watch report on the sites in the Elm Creek watershed are found in the Commission’s Annual Report in Appendix 6.  A map showing the watershed macroinvertebrate monitoring sites is included.

2004 Hennepin County River Watch Results, includes a map showing the watershed macroinvertebrate monitoring sites is shown in Appendix 13 of the Commission's Annual Report. Excerpts from the River Watch report on the sites in the Elm Creek watershed are found in Appendix 14.