Do you enjoy and value being outdoors?

Are you concerned about clean water, and wonder what you can do about it?

Or perhaps you live, work, or play near a stream, and wonder if it’s healthy?

We invite concerned people like you to take an active role in assuring the well-being of your communities' water resources.

Water pollution affects us all. Although there are no easy remedies, correcting water pollution depends on a future generation of informed, concerned citizens. Adopt-A-Stream is an educational volunteer water quality monitoring program designed to help you, help young people, help your local waterway. Groups supported by local cosponsors (civic organizations, sportsmen's clubs or service clubs) agree to observe or evaluate their adopted waterway and take action together to improve their lake, stream, pond, or wetland.

Adopt-A-Stream is designed for volunteer groups, scouting groups, youth organizations and teachers to collect information about their waterway and put it to work. Correcting water pollution also depends on good information. Regular water quality testing provides a mechanism for detecting and documenting problem areas that might otherwise go undetected.

The program provides the framework so that you can plan a monitoring program that suits your objectives. Is there new construction adding sediment? A septic not functioning properly causing low oxygen levels and little life? Is runoff from impervious surfaces like parking lots and streets adding pollutants and litter?

To find out more, see GETTING STARTED