Eyes on the Streams

Volunteers help the City of Raleigh, N.C., keep tabs on pollution and stay in compliance with EPA public education requirements

As a former Boy Scout, Bill Knapp Jr. of Raleigh, N.C., respects nature and loves volunteer work. Thanks to the city’s Adopt-a-Stream program, his passions intersect as neatly as a lateral and a sewer main.

Knapp, 82, a retired veterinarian, just completed three years as chief watchdog of a 2-mile stretch of Crabtree Creek. Thanks to his Boy Scout roots, he found great satisfaction in strolling the banks while looking — and sniffing — for pollution.

“Being in Boy Scouts taught me about nature and the outdoors,” Knapp says. “The older I become, the more I appreciate nature. We’re dependent on nature in so many ways, so we’ve got to do what we can to protect it.”

Knapp is one of more than 600 volunteers that serve the city’s public works department, says Mac Smith, a water quality technician. Established in 1996, the Adopt-a-Stream program is the department’s first stab at creating a volunteer program to reach out to and educate the public about local waterways.

Public outreach and education is one of six major criteria large cities must satisfy to obtain a Stage I stormwater permit from the U.S. EPA. “We want local people to know what streams are in their neighborhood, and to look out for illicit discharges,” Smith says. “We have more than 60 groups, with anywhere from 5 to 15 volunteers in each group. It has taken time to get that many people involved, and the number of active groups tends to cycle up and down.”

Waterway patrols

Smith says the program is similar to the well-known Adopt-a-Highway. Volunteers “adopt” at least a 1-mile stretch of waterway for three years. During that time, they patrol their section at least twice per year, spring and fall. Patrollers use their eyes and noses to spot strange-colored water and detect unusual odors.

The volunteers also must clean up their stretch of stream once per year, preferably along with North Carolina’s annual “Big Sweep” campaign in early October. The city provides trash bags and picks up the debris.

Initially, the stream cleanups were no small task. Knapp participated as a member of the Crabtree Rotary Club, which in turn partners with local Boy Scout Troop 357.

“The Boy Scouts pull canoes with ropes and use them as barges for debris,” he says. “At the same time, Rotarians do creek-side cleaning. A highway crosses the stream, so we find a lot of truck parts, such as doors, fenders, hoods, transmissions and tires. We also find bikes, wagons and even wheelchairs. You’d be surprised what you find underwater.”

The program pays big dividends. Adopted waterways are much cleaner and debris-free. And in at least one instance, a volunteer discovered a sewer leak on the city’s Big Branch Stream. “This volunteer noticed a grayish algae forming on the side of the stream,” Smith says. “It could have been much worse if he hadn’t discovered it.”

Spreading the word

Knapp heard about the program when a stormwater management division representative gave a presentation at a Rotary club meeting. “It impressed me so much that I embarked on the program right away,” Knapp says. “No government agency can do it all with its existing manpower.”

Public presentations are one of several ways the department promotes the volunteer opportunities, says Amy Hathaway, a project engineer. Others include news stories, radio interviews, and 15- to 20-minute spots on public-access cable TV.

The department also produces a quarterly newsletter, Public Watersheds: Volunteers in Action, to remind volunteers of their obligations and keep them interested and motivated. An Adopt-a-Stream sign with the creek’s and the volunteer group’s names is posted on each adopted stretch of stream.

“The sign lets people know who’s cleaning up the creek and educates the public about the name of a stream that they might cross every day going to work, but never realize what the name is,” Smith says. The department also promotes the program and other volunteer opportunities on its Web site.

Wide appeal

Volunteers range from elementary school children to Boy Scouts to members of religious organizations. High school students who need to fulfill community service requirements also find the program a good fit.

For residents interested in something more in-depth, the department has added water-quality monitoring. After attending a half-day seminar, participants go into the field with water-quality monitoring kits to test streams for one year. There are about 10 volunteers in that program.

The volunteers are encouraged to test water five to 10 times per year for BOD, dissolved oxygen, pH, nitrate, phosphate, temperature and turbidity; and three times per year for coliform bacteria. They also use nets to gather insect larvae in late summer.

Smith and Hathaway say the volunteers are integral to the department. Participation exceeds the minimum EPA requirement. Hathaway says the program is especially valuable because many people think stormwater is treated, and so see no harm in pouring motor oil or paint thinner into a sewer drain.

“This program is pretty important to us,” says Smith “The more eyes we have in the field, the better. Fortunately, we don’t have many sewer overflows. But the more groups we have out there, the better the chances they’ll find a leak sooner.”

As for Knapp, he believes volunteer work is an obligation. In fact, he plans to keep taking occasional walks along Crabtree Creek, just to keep an eye on things.

“Retired people should do volunteer work if they’re physically able,” he says. “This program is very worthwhile. It helps the community, wildlife and nature. I’d recommend it to anyone.”



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