Frequently Asked Questions

Why should I participate?

• As a user of New York streams and the connected water bodies, your opinion of water quality and recreational usability is an important foundation for the care of NY's waterways.

• By participating, you are supporting an innovative, community-focused environmental science research

• By reporting the condition of the streams you visit, you are assisting water-quality monitoring efforts that protect NY's surface waters

Can I participate during the COVID-19 pandemic?

Yes, thankfully many state and public parks have remained open and we encourage your participation as a way to enjoy the outdoors.

However, please do so responsibly, NYS regulations apply to all CREEQ volunteers:

• Perform the survey individually and only visit parks with other members of your household

• Please practice social distancing (minimum 6 feet distance) and wear a protective face covering or mask

• Recreate locally #RecreateLocal

• Keep park visits short

• Individuals over 70 years old or with a compromised immune system should not visit public spaces, including those outdoors.

Please see the NYSDEC's COVID-19 Responsible Recreation Guidelines for more information.

How do I participate?

Visit https://arcg.is/H54rG to access the CREEQ survey

Participation is simple; all you need is a smart phone, access to a stream, and interest!

• There are no training, sampling, or participation requirements. The survey has been designed to guide your focus to different aspects of the stream with relevant definitions of technical terminology

• The survey can be performed at any stream in Central New York (public locations are encouraged), you can complete the survey many times as you like, at any time, however we ask you to limit submissions to once per location per day.

• We encourage you to take 5 minutes to perform the survey at the start or end of your stream or park visits

• Participants must be 18 years or older.

What is covered in the survey?

The survey is 7 pages, and is expected to take 5-10 minutes to complete.

All questions are optional (excluding informed consent), but we encourage you to complete all that you feel comfortable answering.

You are encouraged to upload photos of the stream since these give us a sense of what you saw.

Survey Contents:

1. Survey cover letter and Informed Consent

2. About You

3. Site Information

4. Stream Conditions Evaluation

5. Recreational Activities

6. Overall Impressions

7. Photos and Comments

Where can the CREEQ survey be performed?

The CREEQ survey can be performed at any stream across Central New York

• Public streams are encouraged including: State and Municipal Parks, Public Fishing Rights Easements, Fishing Piers and Boat Launches

  • Visit the CREEQ Public Streams Map Series to find locations near you

  • If you have access to a stream on your private land, feel free to perform the survey there. The research team will find the nearest public-access point and will collect samples from there.

How will the survey data be used?

• CREEQ Survey data will be displayed in the CREEQ Data Portal, this is a public web-map that will display CREEQ survey submissions performed by citizen-scientists and the research team.

  • Any information submitted in the "About You" section is not published in the Data Portal. Your anonymity and confidentiality are the most important to us.

• Once we receive a survey, the research team will travel to the location to collect stream water samples. These will be analyzed for common water quality indicators. The visual evaluations will be analyzed with biochemical measurements to identify relationships between them. The goal is to use these relationships to establish visual indicators for water quality impairment.