Minnesota Pollution Control Agency

Contacts: Sam Brungardt, (651) 282-6410 Marvin Hora, (651) 296-7201 St. Paul, Minn. - Since Minnesota has more surface waters than any other of the 48 contiguous states, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) needs to be innovative and efficient in fulfilling its charge to monitor, protect and restore the quality, quantity and diversity of the state's waters. One way the agency does this is by using data collected by those unpaid and unsung heroes, citizen monitors. The task seems daunting, but changes the MPCA made recently to its surface water quality monitoring activities will allow it to better use data from its own volunteers and some 90 other organizations that help monitor the state's rivers, lakes and wetlands. These changes, summarized in a recently published legislative report, "Citizen Monitoring of Surface Water Quality," came about as a result of discussions the MPCA had with the Impaired Waters Policy Work Group, funding from the Legislative Commission on Minnesota Resources, and a revision of the agency's strategic plan. The report can be accessed on the Internet at hppt://www.pca.state.mn.us/publications/reports/lrwq-s-1sy05.pdf The report summarizes improvements in the MPCA's surface water quality monitoring activities, including changes in its monitoring strategy, the use of remote sensing, the acceleration of integrated monitoring (monitoring for biological, chemical and physical parameters at a site), and the increased use of other organizations' data. Other sections of the report cover use of citizen monitoring data, technical and financial assistance for citizen monitoring, making data from monitoring more accessible and available for use, and promoting volunteer monitoring. Examples of how data from citizen monitoring are being used in local decision making and efforts to protect and restore surface waters are also included.