Citizen Stream-Monitor Program

              "Get Involved in Your Watershed!"

Minnesota streams are valued for recreation, aesthetic enjoyment, transportation, and as a source of clean water by many plants and animals…including humans! For these reasons it is important to protect and improve the quality of our state’s streams. A citizen stream monitoring network in the Redwood and Cottonwood River Watersheds will increase our understanding of how human activities such as land use affect water quality. In turn, we will gain insight on how human activities affect the benefits we gain from clean water such as swimming and fishing. Increased stream monitoring will help identify problems, develop strategies and prioritize activities for improving water quality, and track progress toward improvement.  The RCRCA Citizen Stream-Monitor Program is coordinated with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.

Goals of the Redwood & Cottonwood River CSMP are to:

• Help determine the condition of the Redwood and Cottonwood Rivers by expanding our water- quality monitoring network.
• Provide the opportunity for anyone interested to participate in a basic, centrally administered and interpreted stream monitoring program.
• Facilitate awareness and understanding of water-quality issues, and promote shared responsibility for protection of Minnesota's water resources.

What CSMP Volunteers Do
About once a week during the summer, volunteers visit an established spot on a nearby stream and measure the following:

Information Provided by CSMP Monitoring
During rainfall events, stream transparency can significantly decrease as sediments are delivered to streams in runoff. In addition, sediments may carry other water pollutants to streams. CSMP records of rainfall amount, stream stage estimates, and transparency readings can tell us where runoff may be contributing sediment and other pollutants to streams. Transparency may serve as an easily measured, indirect indicator of more expensive and difficult water quality measures such as turbidity and total suspended solids.

2001 CSMP Data

2002 CSMP Data

Links to Minnesota Pollution Control Agency data collected by Citizen Stream Monitors (1999-2005)

Uses for CSMP Data
Changes over time in transparency, appearance and recreational suitability can serve as yardsticks to measure improvements or declines in water quality. Individuals and organizations can use CSMP data to detect trends in water quality and help decide if additional assessments or actions are needed to protect and improve water quality. 

Some potential projects for CSMP monitoring include:

• Before and after a change in upstream land use If a land management change is planned near a stream or river, select a monitoring site just downstream of where the change will take place. Monitor before and after the change occurs to detect any potential effects on the stream.
• Seasonal storm monitoring Compare CSMP data for rainfall events during spring, summer, and fall to background or base flow (low flow) conditions. Keep track of upstream land management practices or crop status during this period.
• Upstream and downstream of a water quality improvement project Monitor a site upstream, and a site downstream of a storm water retention pond or stream vegetative buffer (fenced area along the edges of a stream) to evaluate its effectiveness at reducing sediment inputs.

How to Enroll in the Program
Currently, RCRCA is looking for citizen-stream monitors in priority areas of minor watersheds located throughout the Redwood and Cottonwood River Watersheds. These priority areas include: Three Mile Creek, Clear Creek, the Redwood River, Meadow Creek, Lone Tree Creek, Sleepy Eye Creek, Plum Creek, Pell Creek, Dutch Charley Creek, Highwater Creek, Dry Creek, Mound Creek, Coal Mine Creek, and the upper and lower portions of the Cottonwood River. Volunteers will receive a transparency tube, rain gauge, data sheets, instructions for taking measurements, and a copy of the annual report on stream conditions in their region.

Please call or stop by our office at the number and address listed below, for more information on becoming a volunteer for the Redwood or Cottonwood River Citizen-Stream Monitoring Program.

Map of Current CSMP Locations

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Redwood-Cottonwood Rivers Control Area (RCRCA)
1241 East Bridge Street
Redwood Falls, MN 56283
Phone:  507-637-2142, ext. 4
Fax:  507-637-2134
E-mail:  rcrca2day@yahoo. com