The Haw River Watch Project, sponsored by the Haw River Assembly, gives us a clearer picture of the health of the Haw River by determining the type and location of pollution sources. By conducting four seasonal “snapshot” surveys per year, River Watch volunteers document water quality across the tributaries and riverbanks of the Haw. Teams are trained and equipped to monitor water quality through biological, chemical, and visual parameters. Working with the Haw Riverkeeper, volunteers act as guardians of their streams and notify state agencies if water quality is threatened.
Interested in becoming a River Watch Volunteer? We will train you or your group. We ask all River Watchers to become members of the Haw River Assembly and contribute the cost of their equipment. For more information contact emily@hawriver.org.
Where are our teams? Where do we need teams?
River Watch Training Resources
Training Documents
- Welcome To River Watch
- Overview of Watershed Issues
- Introduction to Haw River Watch
- Completing River Watch Survey Section A
- Collecting Macroinvertebrates
- Identifying Macroinvertebrates
- Filling Out River Watch Survey Section B
- Macroinvertebrate Identification Tutorial Demo
- Need to Report a Pollution Problem? This document is up to date as of February 2017. Use this updated contact list to report any stream issues.
Forms for Volunteers
Our participating volunteers use these forms for quarterly stream monitoring. If you are interested in our program, please take a look!
- Online River Watch Initial Stream Survey Form
- Online River Watch Survey Form
- Printable Haw River Watch Survey Form
- Macroinvertebrate Identification Sheet
- River Watch Manual: Volunteers use this manual to walk through the steps of a high quality, reliable stream survey. If you spot a pollution issue, please use the most recent link to the Pollution Control contact list in the link below.
Saturdays on the Haw: Riverwatch Series
Saturdays on the Haw: Riverwatch Series from Haw River Assembly on Vimeo.
Pilot Department of Water Resources’ new River Watch Application!
NC Stream Watch is a program through the North Carolina Division of Water Resources. It is intended to support community watershed groups, or other citizen science participants, in learning about their streams as well as the streams and rivers throughout the state. After launching publicly, the NC Stream Watch map will have pictures and information collected by citizens just like you! The program is entirely voluntary, so no pressure! Here are your 3 tasks:
- Fill out a brief (2 minutes) pre-assessment https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/Q7QZ99X
- Explore this site from your computer: https://deq.nc.gov/about/divisions/water-resources/water-resources-training/public-involvement/stream-watch-home-page
- Use your preferred device (or devices) to access the surveys found on the website above. Complete the surveys with real/not real data- all of these submissions will eventually be deleted after the pilot period. *Please upload images to the surveys! This is very important to determine ease of usability. Once the survey is submitted, check it out on the live map!
Too time consuming? Is it too confusing? Too difficult for the age range you work with? You prefer to access this on a computer rather than your mobile device? Would you just prefer paper copies of the surveys? These are all questions we’d like to learn from you.
Past Studies and Water Quality Resources
Documentary on the Haw River Watch project In the spring of 2008, UNC-CH Journalism student Ru Sha put together this three-minute video, shot at our March 29, 2008 Macro-Micro Workshop on the Haw River in Bynum.
- N.C. Division of Water Quality home page
- U.S. EPA’s pages on Biological Indicators (*follow links for good info, reference sites, pictures)
- WWF- Southeastern Rivers Information
- River Network/Connecting People, Saving Rivers
- WaterKeeper Alliance
Haw River Watch Project Monitoring Report
Read the Haw River Watch Report 2014, which provides data that the Haw River Watch Project has collected through December 2014. Thanks to all the River Watchers who have made it possible!
Hydrologic Impairment:
Hydrological Impairment