Rising 7th grader and Secchi Dip-In participant Alex Lambert takes measurements in the Catawba River. (Catawba Riverkeeper photo)

You can help with the tests of water quality and clarity. Info below on how to get a “Secchi Disk” test kit

SOURCE: Catawba Riverkeeper
Everyone wants to see their feet when they go for a swim in the lake, and the fish like to see what they are about to eat. The Catawba Riverkeeper wants to know, too, and this month an army of volunteers will be out testing the waters from boats, docks and piers. They’ll be dropping black-and-white weighted disks on a ropes into the water to assess water clarity.

The volunteers began tests June 25 and they’ll continue through July 17 at sites throughout the Catawba River Chain of Lakes. This volunteer assessment of water clarity will be adding data to the “Secchi Dip-In,” a project to monitor lakes in the United States and Canada that started in 1994 with 800 volunteers in six Midwest states. It’s named for the black-and-white “Secchi disks” used in the tests.

The Secchi Dip-In is a “demonstration of the potential of volunteer monitors to gather environmentally important information on our lakes, rivers and streams.” Over the years, it has grown to encompass numerous waterways throughout the United States and Canada, and has encouraged the participation of over 2,000 volunteers. This project provides local, regional and international insights into water quality. The United States Environmental Protection Agency and the North American Lake Management Society are nation-wide sponsors of the 2011 Secchi Dip-In.

Catawba Riverkeeper is launching this project locally because since the inception of Secchi Dip-In, very little information has been submitted to this national dataset regarding our region’s drinking water resource, the Catawba River.

“Not only is this a great opportunity to learn about the clarity and health of the lakes in our region. It’s a great excuse to get out and enjoy the Catawba’s lakes,” Catawba Riverkeeper David Merryman said in a press release.

YOU CAN HELP

Catawba Riverkeeper encourages citizens of all ages throughout the Catawba River basin to participate in the environmental monitoring project as well. Anyone interested in participating in the project can contact Catawba Riverkeeper Foundation to receive a Secchi disk, directions and data collection sheets.

Data collection sheets and Secchi disk testing directions are available on the riverkeeper website at http://www.catawbariverkeeper.org/our-work/secchi-dip-in.

by