River Watch

Goal Setting & Teamwork:

• Collect water quality data for the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency in conjunction with Friends of the Minnesota Valley
• Work with non-Yes!Team students who were also interested in water quality

Friends of the MN Valley River Watch program is a project which takes us beyond the community of Sleepy Eye. Team members collect water quality data from a county ditch and the Cottonwood River, both tributaries to the Minnesota River. The results are entered on a website and become part of the MN Pollution Control Agency’s water quality database. This project also represents a collaboration with non-YES! students who are interested in stewardship of and improvement in water resources. Our commitment to the importance of River Watch motivates us to meet at our sites on our own time outside of school hours early on Saturday mornings and and even during the summer months. So far we have learned how to use the MN Pollution Control Agency's water sampling equipment--the Van Dorn sampler, the Secchi disk and YSI probe which gives readings for water/air temperature, nitrates, dissolved oxygen, pH, and specific conductivity. We also record field note observations on the weather, the suitability of the stream/river for recreation, and the amount of debris in the water. So far, one of the coaches has always entered the data on the MN PCA website, but it is a goal for students to learn that process during the 2019-20 sampling year. This training was to take place after the April sampling. We are still in postponement of sampling due to coVID 19 status at this time.