NCNR's New River Monitoring Group (NRMG) has been monitoring water quality throughout the New River Watershed in North Carolina for over 6 years. Local citizens that make up the group have mostly practiced physical monitoring, while a handful were performing chemical as well. Recently, citizen volunteers have had training sessions and workshops on how to perform biological monitoring by identifying benthic macroinvertebrates, which are the small animals that live on the bottom of streams.

Currently, NCNR's Citizen Volunteer Water Quality Monitoring Program is expanding, not only downstream but at the headwaters too. The new (in Virginia) and improved (in North Carolina) water quality monitoring program will be combining all three types of monitoring physical (temperature and turbidity), chemical (Dissolved Oxygen and pH) and biological (macro invertebrates and E.coli in Virginia).

Upgrading our monitoring techniques, systematically choosing appropriate monitoring sites, starting a program in Virginia, and partnering with state environmental agencies is a very exciting endeavor. And to make this program a success, NCNR needs the help of New River citizens. If you are interested in volunteering with our New River Monitoring Group in either Virginia or North Carolina or would like to join our North Carolina's NRMG meeting please contact Courtney for more information.