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Collecting water samples
Nearly 50 residents of Towns and Union counties, Ga. and Clay County, N.C. participate in the coalition's volunteer monitoring program, collecting water samples monthly from 20 locations in the Chatuge and Nottely watersheds. The samples are driven to Asheville, N.C., also by volunteers, on the following Monday where they are ana-lyzed at aUniversityof North Carolina lab. The results are fed into the Volunteer Water Information Network (VWIN), which extends throughout the Southern Appalachian region. Cool temperatures, high dissolved oxygen and low nutrient and sediment concentrations are critical to maintaining the health of our mountain streams and lakes. HRWC has been tracking these parameters and many more since October of 2002, resulting in a database for area streams that contains more than five years of data! The information helps guide our programs for protecting and improving water quality. Unfortunately the trends for some streams are not very positive! Although on average water quality in our streams is still relatively good, we see high levels of suspended sediment during rainfall events and higher water temperatures each year. Summaries of the data that's been collected are available on the coalition's website: http:// www.hrwc.net/overallsummary. htm or you may contact the office to receive a more detailed report by mail. The Hiwassee River Watershed Coalition is a local nonprofit conservation organization whose mission is to facilitate water quality improvements throughout the upper Hiwassee River watershed. If you are interested in joining or volunteering, contact us at hrwcoalition@brmemc.net or by calling 828-837-5414 .
HRWC water sampling volunteer, Mary Stewart King brings in samples collected from Shooting Creek as snow starts to lay on Saturday, Jan. 19.
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