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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTB Minutes 2007-09-26 r � 1 Community Science Institute www.communityscience.org Volunteer Monitoring Watershed Science Risk Communication Request for Funding Volunteer Monitorina in the Six Mile Creek Watershed in 2007 Submitted to City of Ithaca and Towns of Ithaca, Dryden and Caroline by Community Science Institute, Cornell Cooperative. Extension of Tompkins County, and Tompkins County Soil and Water Conservation District September 26, 2007 Goal The goal of this funding request is three-fold: To monitor and characterize water quality in Six Mile Creek in a cost-effective manner; to educate the public about water quality issues; and to build a long-term water quality database that can be used by government to manage water resources. Background and significance The Six Mile Creek Volunteer Monitoring Partnership was initiated in 2004. To date, ten monitoring events have been conducted at 13 locations .spanning the entire Six Mile Creek watershed. Approximately 1 ,700 data points have been collected on 13 water quality parameters, stored in an MS Excel spreadsheet, and analyzed using graphs, tables and simple statistics. Results for the first eight monitoring events from September 2004. through April 2006 are reported on CSI' s website at www.communityscience.orQlSixMile/SixMileCreek.html. A guide to interpreting water quality data may be found on the Water Quality Data page. Terms are defined in the website Glossary. Preliminary findings are summarized in this proposal (see below). Since its inception in 2004, the Six Mile Creek Volunteer Monitoring Partnership has provided benefits to individual volunteers and their communities in the watershed: ■ Volunteers have become better educated about water quality and water resource management issues, increasing their sense of stewardship and helping build grassroots support for protecting Six Mile Creek and Cayuga Lake; ■ For municipalities required to meet Phase II Stormwater regulations, volunteer monitoring partnerships meet the minimum requirements for public participation; ■ Because the Community Science Institute's laboratory is certified by the New York State Department. of Health - Environmental Laboratory Approval Program (FLAP # 117909 EPA Lab ID# 01518), the Six Mile Creek Volunteer Monitoring Partnership has resulted in chemical and microbiological data that are considered management quality and acceptable by all levels of government; 284 Langmuir Lab/Box 1044 95 Brown Road Ithaca NY 14850 Voice/Fax 607 257 6606 Certified Water Testing NYSDOH-ELAP #11790 EPA Lab Code NY01518 Stephen Penningroth Executive Director 4nfo@communhysc1ence.org> m 2 Community Science Institute wwW.communigs.cience.org Volunteer Monitoring Watershed Science Risk Communication ■ Individual municipalities required to monitor stormwater have realized cost savings on the order of 90% due to volunteers donating their time to collect samples, agencies providing in-kind contri butions of staff time and resources; the Community Science Institute discounting certified lab analyses; and multiple municipalities in the watershed sharing the balance of the cost of the monitoring program; ■ The Six Mile Mile Creek Volunteer Monitoring Partnership has resulted in the initiation of a long-term database which, if continued over the coming years, can serve as a resource for assessing water quality trends and evaluating their effects on Cayuga Lake over time. This database expands significantly on the water quality data collected approximately once a decade by the New York State . Department of Environmental Conservation' s (NYSDEC) Rotating Intensive Basin Survey (RIBS) Program, filling large data gaps left by RIBS and bringing local water quality into sharper perspective; ■ By sampling at multiple locations throughout the watershed, the Six Mile Creek Volunteer Monitoring Partnership makes it possible to investigate and ultimately to manage sources of pollution; and . ■ Regular monitoring combined with USGS flow data has begun to yield estimates of the loads of nutrients, sediment and salt that are transported from Six Mile Creek to Cayuga Lake. These estimates contribute to understanding and, if necessary, managing these inputs. Water quality results from September 2004 throueh April 2006 When reading this section,. please refer to two sets of graphs at wwW.communilyscience .orp,/SixMile/SlxMileCreek.html. The first set reports average results for all the monitoring sites in the watershed and is found by clicking on the buttons labeled "Bacteria," "Phosphorus," etc. The second set of graphs compares results for Plain Street with USGS flow measurements on each monitoring date and investigates the correlation between concentration and flow. This second set of graphs is at www communityscience.org/SixMile/P1ainBacteria.html or can be found by clicking on the monitoring site "Plain Street," which is located near the mouth of Six Mile Creek, then on the graphs labeled "Bacteria," "Phosphorus," etc. 1 ) Bacteria: The EPA recommends that the geometric mean of a series of E. coil measurements (five or more per month) not exceed 126 colonies/100 ml for a heavily used swimming area. The geometric means of E. coil concentrations in Six Mile Creek, based on eight monitoring events over 20 months, are near or below the recommended EPA level at most sampling locations. However, concentrations of E. coli in single samples range as high as 6,900 colonies/100 ml. The other class of bacteria being tracked by our monitoring partnership, total coliform bacteria, are known to be more numerous than E. coil. The NYSDEC recommends that the median concentration of a series of samples not exceed 2,400 colonies/100 ml. Median concentrations of total coliform bacteria in Six Mile Creek exceed the recommended limit at most locations. Single samples 284 Langmuir Lab/Box 1044 95 Brown Road Ithaca NY 14850 Voice/Fax 607 257 6606 Certified Water Testing NYSDOH-ELAP #11790 EPA Lab Code NY01518 Stephen Penningroth Executive Director <info@coinmunhyscience.org> m 3 Community Science Institute www.communityscience.org Volunteer Monitoring Watershed Science Risk Communication sometimes exceed 50,000 colonies/ 100 ml. It is often assumed that bacteria levels are low when the water is low in a stream, and that they rise when the water level is high following rain or snowmelt. Surprisingly, flow appears to have had little if any effect on bacteria concentrations during the 19-month period from September 2004 to April 2006. One possible explanation is the long period of hot dry weather in 2005 , when flows were low and bacteri a levels rose. 2) Suspended sediment: Suspended sediment concentrations show a strong positive correlation with flow. Moreover, sediment concentrations trend upward as water in Six Mile Creek flows downstream. Interestingly, sediment concentrations parallels turbidity at monitoring sites above the Six Mile Creek reservoir. Below the reservoir, however, sediment concentrations fall slightly while turbidity continues to rise in samples from the Wildflower Preserve and Plain Street. One possible explanation is that relatively large sediment particles are trapped in the silt pond and the reservoir, while tiny particles may pass through these barriers and produce a level of turbidity that is high in relation to their size. (Note: Turbidity is based on light scattering by suspended particles and I is a qualitative, not quantitative, measure of sediment concentration. Light scattering is affected by the size and shape of suspended particles, in addition to their weight.) 3) Phosphorus nutrients: Average total phosphorus concentrations range from 14 to 26 ug/L in upper Six Mile Creek, then increase to 41 to 60 ug/L starting at German Cross Road. The correlation between total phosphorus and flow at Plain Street is excellent. A second phosphorus indicator, soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP), correlates poorly with flow. Average SRP concentrations fall in a narrow range between 11 and 15 ug/L. Unlike total phosphorus, there is no discernible increase in SRP as water flows downstream. 4) Nitrogen nutrients: Average nitrate-nitrogen concentrations range from 0. 1 to 0.5 mg/L while average total nitrogen concentrations range from 0.2 to 0. 8 mg/L. The correlation between flow and nitrate concentration at Plain Street is poor. The correlation between flow and total nitrogen concentration is signiflcantly better. This may be due to organic nitrogen in stormwater runoff. 5) Salt and minerals: Chloride concentration generally increased in a downstream direction, from 5 .6 mg/L near the headwaters of Six Mile Creek to an average of . 29.4 mg/L at Plain Street. Chloride concentration did not depend on flow. Alkalinity, which is due mainly to calcium carbonate in .groundwater entering the stream, generally increased downstream.. Alkalinity decreased as flow increased at Plain Street, probably due to the dilution of groundwater-derived calcium carbonate by the "soft water in surface runoff. 6) Other chemical water quality indicators: In addition to the ten indicators analyzed on the CSI website, three more indicators have been measured since 2004 as part of the water quality monitoring partnership: pH, total hardness and sulfate. Results are available electronically on request in MS Excel spreadsheet format. 7) Biological monitoring: Six. Mile Creek volunteers have been active in monitoring aquatic insects called benthic macroinvertebrates (BMI) at several locations as 284 Langmuir Lab/Box 1044 95 Brown Road Ithaca NY 14850 Voice/Fax 607 257 6606 Certified Water Testing NYSDOH-ELAP #11790 EPA Lab Code NY01518 Stephen Penningroth Executive Director 4nfo@conunun11yscience.org> m 4 Community Science Institute www.communityscience.org Volunteer Monitoring Watershed Science Risk Communication biological indicators of stream water quality. Results of BMI monitoring will be posted on CSI' s website soon. 8) Individual monitoring sites:ites: Collecting water samples at multiple locations makes it possible to interpret water quality indicators in a watershed context, allowing direct comparisons among monitoring sites throughout the watershed. When monitoring sites are compared with one another in a watershed context, those with unusually poor water quality standout. Two examples are "Irish Settlement Road" and "Horse Farm." Both show unusually high concentrations of E: coli bacteria compared with other sites nearby. The Six Mile Creek land use map on the CSI website offers a possible explanation: Both sites are located immediately downstream from pasture and cropland. Depending on how these particular agricultural areas are managed, E. coli might come from animals grazing close to the stream and/or from liquid manure present in runoff. Leaky on-site septic systems offer another possible explanation. Investigation of upstream land use practices might distinguish among these possible sources of elevated E. coli.. In addition to average E. coli values spiking at two monitoring sites, two nutrient indicators, nitrate and dissolved phosphorus, trend slightly higher across the middle of the watershed, approximately from Boiceville Road to German Cross Road. The Six Mile Creek land use map on the CSI website shows that cropland is concentrated in this area. The observed rises in nitrate and dissolved phosphorus are thus likely to be due to agricultural fertilizer. Average E. con levels also rise noticeably from Boiceville Road to German Cross Road, consistent with agricultural runoff. It should be emphasized that although these relative increases are clearly discernible in a watershed context, they are not large in absolute terms. Indeed, the fact that they can be discerned at all, given the generally low concentrations of nutrients and bacteria that are prevalent in the Six Mile Creek watershed, serves to confirm watershed monitoring as a sensitive approach to investigating and managing potential sources of stream pollution. Preliminary conclusions about water quality Water quality in the Six Mile Creek watershed is generally good. This is probably due, in part, to the large amount of forest cover, over 75% (see Six Mile Creek land use map at www communityscience org/SixMile/SixMileCreek.html). Despite good water quality overall, results to date suggest that several indicators bear watching: a) Bacteria: E. coli levels frequently exceed federal standards for swimming areas. Total coliform levels almost always exceed state guidelines for streams. Possible sources of bacteria are agricultural runoff, leaky on-site septic systems, and urban runoff; b) Sediment: Under high flow (stormwater) conditions, sediment loading to Cayuga Lake is substantial. c) Phosphorus: Sediment invariably has phosphorus tightly bound to it, and consequently the amounts of phosphorus reaching Cayuga Lake parallel the amounts of sediment. However, it is not clear that sediment-bound phosphorus results in an increased concentration of phosphorus 284 Langmuir Lab/Box 1044 95 Brown Road Ithaca NY 14850 Voice/Fax 607 257 6606 Certified Water Testing NYSDOH=ELAP #11790 EPA Lab Code NY01518 Stephen Penningroth Executive Director vn/b@communityscience.org> m 5 Community Science Institute www.communityscience.org Volunteer Monitoring Watershed Science Risk Communication in Cayuga Lake water, because it may sink to the bottom of the lake along with the sediment to which it is tightly attached and thus remain unavailable as a nutrient for algae and other lake vegetation. The soluble reactive, i.e. , dissolved, form of phosphorus is unquestionably available fo plant growth. The .concentration of dissolved phosphorus i r n Six Mile Creek is similar to concentrations in Cayuga Lake, 10 to 15 ug/L, suggesting that Six Mile Creek may not currently be adding to the pool of bioavailable phosphorus in Cayuga Lake. This assumes, however, that sediment-bound phosphorus remains at the bottom of the lake, and that it does not detach from sediment and join the pool of dissolved, bioavailable phosphorus. Activities proposed for 2007 Six Mile Creek monitoring program Monitoring: Volunteers will continue to monitor the same 13 sites as they have since 2002. The Community Science Institute will continue to provide technical and laboratory support. Data analysis interpretation and communication: Graphs and tables analyzing Six Mile Creek monitoring data on CSI' s website will be updated as new data are collected and entered in MS Excel. BMI results will be added to the website, as will new text that will focus specifically on interpreting water quality in the Six Mile Creek watershed and comparing it to water quality in other watersheds at the southern end of Cayuga Lake. Monitoring results will be communicated to the general public at the Volunteer Monitoring Symposium in December, 2007 . Volunteers will be encouraged to communicate water quality results to their friends, neighbors, local governments and civic organizations as away of building awareness and interest in regional water resources and their management. Volunteer retention and recruitment: The Six Mile Creek volunteer group has shown exceptional dedication to their mission over the past two-an&a-half years. Nevertheless, some volunteer attrition is inevitable. Cooperative Extension will support Six Mile Creek volunteers in community outreach and recruitment of new volunteers. CSI' s website will augment volunteer recruitment strategies. Refresher workshops: CSI will offer refresher workshops on monitoring techniques upon request by volunteers. Workshops for new volunteers will be provided by CSI on an as- needed basis. Volunteer Monitoring Symposium: Cooperative Extension will take the lead in planning and organizing the third annual Volunteer Monitoring Symposium to report to interested citizens on water quality and recognize volunteers' crucial role in assessing the state of our streams. In addition to Six Mile Creek volunteers, volunteers from CSI' s five other volunteer monitoring partnerships, municipal officials, Water Resource Council members, staff of water management agencies, and members of the public will also be invited to the symposium. 284 Langmuir Lab/Box 1044 95 Brown Road Ithaca NY 14850 Voice/Fax 607 257 6606 Certified Water Testing . NYSDOH-ELAP #11790 EPA Lab Code NY01518 Stephen Penningroth Executive Director <info@communityscience.otg> m 6 Community Science Institute www.communityscience.org . Volunteer Monitoring Watershed Science Risk Communication Proposed 2007 Budget for Six Mile Creek COMMUNITY SCIENCE INSTITUTE Item Cost In-kind Total S. Pennin oth, Project Director 125 hours $40 $ 5,000 $ 5,000 Fringe 31.25% $ 1 ,563 $ 1 ,563 Webmaster 50 hours $20), $ 1 ,000 $ 1 ,000 . Volunteer Monitoring Coordinator 50 hours $12 $ .600 $ 600 Fringe on Webmaster and Coordinator salaries ( 12.5%) $ 200 $ 200 Undergraduate interns and work-stud student ( 150 hours $2.50) $ 375 $ 375 Certified analyses of water samples (5 events x 13 sites x 12 $ 8,736 $ 2, 184 $ 109920 parameters x $ 14 Volunteer workshops $ 700 $ 700 Bookkeeper 15 hours @ $35 $ 525 $ 525 Phone $ 20 $ 20 TOTAL DIRECT COSTS $ 189019 $ 2,884 $209903 Indirect costs (15%) $ 2,703 $ 433 $ 31135 TOTAL COST $20,722 1 $ 3 ,317 $24,038 CORNELL COOPERATIVE EXTENSION OF TOMPKINS COUNTY Item Cost In4ind Total Tania Schusler, Environmental Issues Educator, 60 hrs $ 11200 $ 19200 Fringe benefits In-kind $ 480. $ 480 Travel $ 20 $ 20 Printing and postage for publicity $ 100 $ 100 Volunteer monitoring symposium $ . 100 $ 100 TOTAL DIRECT COSTS $ 1 ,420 $ 480 $ 1 ,900 Indirect costs 15% $ 213 $ 72 $ 285 TOTAL COST $ 1 ,633 $ 552 $ 2, 185 TOMPKINS COUNTY SOIL AND WATER CONSERVATION DISTRICT Item Cost In4ind Total Craig Schutt; Director, 20 hrs $ 600 $ 600 Jon Ne le , Conservation Technician, 25 hrs $ 625 $ 625 TOTAL DIRECT COSTS $ 1 ,225 $ 1 ,225 Indirect costs 15% $ 184 $ 184 TOTAL COST $ 1 ,40.9 $ 1 ,409 284 Langmuir Lab/Box 1044 95 Brown Road Ithaca NY 14850 Voice/Fax 607 257 6606 Certified Water Testing NYSDOH-ELAP #11790 EPA Lab Code NY01518 Stephen Penningroth Executive Director <1nfo@communhyscienca0rg'> ® 7 Community Science Institute www.communityscience.org Volunteer Monitoring Watershed Science Risk Communication SIX MILE CREEK VOLUNTEERS Item Cost In-kind Total 15 Volunteers x 3 hrs/monitoring event x 5 events x $ 16/hr $ 3 ,600 $ 3 ,600 10 volunteers x 10 hrsBMI monitoring event x 1 event x $ 16/hr $ 19600 $ 1 ,600 12 volunteers x 2 hrs/meeting x 12 meetings x $ 16/hr. $ 49608 1 $ 49608 TOTAL COST $ 99808 $ 94808 BUDGET SUMMARY Item Total Total Agency and Volunteer Cost $ 37,440 Less Agency and Volunteer In-kind $ 159086 Less TCSWCD contribution toward certified analyses costs from FL-LOWPA $ 52000 Net Program Cost $ 17,354 2007 Municipal Cost (Distributed evenly among T. Caroline, T. Dryden, T. Ithaca, and City of Ithaca) $ 4,339 Explanation of budget: Changes from 2006 : The total cost is similar to 2006 ($372223 in 2006 compared to $37,440 in 2007) while the net cost has increased from $ 11 ,822 to $ 17,354, resulting in an increased request of $ 1 ,384 for each of the four municipalities in the Six Mile Creek watershed, from $2,955 to $4,339 The increase in net cost is due primarily to three factors : a) An increase in CSI salaries and elimination of in-kind contributions for salaries and benefits; b) The need to maintain CSI' s web site and use it as a tool in community outreach and education; and c) An 8% increase. in analyses costs (these costs had remained essentially level for two years). Proiect Director: . This position includes overall project administration and management; acting as Technical Director of CSI' s laboratory and assuring that data quality objectives are met; supervising five to six part-time employees, including two laboratory technicians, the volunteer coordinator, the webmaster, and student employees; providing technical and laboratory support for volunteer monitoring groups and their agency partners; analyzing and interpreting raw monitoring data and communicating results, including the preparation of graphs, tables and explanatory text for posting on the Six Mile Creek page of CSI ' s website; and encouraging public discussion of water quality and water resource management issues. Dr. Stephen Penningroth holds a Ph.D. in Biochemical Sciences and serves as CSI' s Executive Director as well as Technical Director of CSI' s certified laboratory. Certified Analyses of Water Samples: Analyses are performed in CSI' s independent certified water quality testing laboratory (NYS Dept. of Health - Environmental Laboratory Approval Program # 11790, EPA Lab ID NY01518) located in room 284 of the Langmuir Laboratory, 95 Brown Road, in the Cornell Business and Technology Park. Laboratory test results are certified; are considered management-quality; and are 284 Langmuir Lab/Box 1044 95 Brown Road Ithaca NY 14850 Voice/Fax 607 257 6606 Certified Water Testing NYSDOH-ELAP #11790 EPA Lab Code NY01518 Stephen Penningroth Executive Director <injo@communhyscience org> m 8 Community Science Institute www.communityscience.org Volunteer Monitoring Watershed Science Risk Communication acceptable to municipal, county, state and federal governments. CSI provides an average discount of 20% on analyses performed on samples collected by volunteers. Analyses . costs include hourly wages and fringe for two part-time laboratory technicians; .consumable laboratory supplies; certification fees to the New York Department of Health — Environmental Laboratory Approval Program (NYSDOH-ELAP); and equipment maintenance, calibration and repair. Undergraduate Interns and Work-Study Students : Summer interns and academic year work-study students from Cornell University and Ithaca College are playing a critical role in developing and maintaining CSI' s website as a forum for disseminating water quality results and promoting public understanding of water resource management issues. Students enter raw monitoring data in MS Excel spreadsheets; design graphs and tables using advanced functions in MS Excel ; and assist the webmaster in maintaining the website. Work-study students are paid $ 10/hour -of which Cornell University pays .$7. 50 and CSI pays $2 .50. Without dedicated students giving of their time and talent, the CSI website would be neither possible nor affordable. Webmaster: This position is responsible for maintaining, improving and updating the CSI website with assistance from work-study students and interns. Indirect Costs . Overhead costs covered by this surcharge include rent on 330 square feet of lab space that doubles as office space, telephone and internet fees, commercial liability and workers compensation insurance, and professional services such as income tax preparation. 284 Langmuir Lab/Boz 1044 95 Brown Road Ithaca NY 14850 Voice/Fax 607 257 6606 Certified Water Testing NYSDOH-ELAP #11790 EPA Lab Code NY01518 Stephen Penningroth Executive Director 4nfo@conMunitysciencaorg> m 1 Community Science Institute www.communityscience.org Volunteer Monitoring Watershed Science Risk Communication Request for. Funding Volunteer Monitoring in the Fa11-Virdl Creek Watershed in 2007 Submitted to City of Ithaca; Towns of Ithaca, Dryden, Groton, Harford, and Virgil, Villages of Cayuga Heights, Dryden, Groton and Freeville; and Cornell University by Community Science Institute, Cornell Cooperative Extension of Tompkins County, Tompkins County Soil and Water Conservation District and Cortland County Soil and Water Conservation District September 26, 2007 Goal The goal of this funding request is three-fold: To monitor and characterize water quality in Fall Creek and Virgil Creek in a cost-effective manner; to educate the public about , water quality issues; and to build a long-term water quality database that can be used by government to manage water resources. Back round and si ificance In 2002, the Community Science Institute formed a partnership with the volunteer Fall Creek Watershed Committee (FCWC) and the Soil and Water Conservation Districts of Tompkins and Cortland Counties to monitor water quality in the Fall Creek watershed. To date, 18 monitoring events have been conducted on lower Fall Creek below Freeville, conducted on three monitoring vents have been co upper Fall Creek, and 18 monitoring g n Vir i1 Creek. For maps showing land uses in the two n ucted o P events have been cod g watersheds and the locations of the twelve monitoring sites, please visit CSI' s websrte at www.communityscience.org. Approximately 2,000 data points have been collected on 13 water quality parameters. Results for the period 2003 -2005 were descri bed in our 2006 funding proposal. In 2006, a decision was made to analyze water quality data separately for the two now stored in two separate MS Excelspreadsheets, one watersheds. As a result; data are p P for Fall Creek and one for Virgil Creek. Analyses of results are currently in the process of being updated through August 2006 and will be reported separately for the two watersheds by December 2006 at www.communiiyscience .orp,/FallCreek/FallCreek.html and www.communityscience.org/VirizilCreekNirgilCreek.html. For examples of the kinds of data analyses being prepared for Fall Creek and Virgil Creek using graphs, tables and simple statistics, you are invited to visit the Six Mile Creek page of the CSI 284 Langmuir Lab/Box 1044 95 Brown Road Ithaca NY 14850 Voice/Fax 607 257 6606 Certified Water Testing NYSDOH-ELAP #11790 EPA Lab Code NY01518 Stephen Penningroth Executive Director dnjo@communityscience.org> m 2 Community Science Institute WWW.communityscience.org Volunteer Monitoring Watershed Science Risk Communication website at www. conimunityscience ,orp,/SixMile/SixMil,eCreek.html. Our Six Mile Creek funding proposal entitled Volunteer Monitoring in the Six Mile Creek Watershed in 2007 includes a discussion of the results on the CSI website. Similar analyses ' and discussions are planned for the Fall Creek and Virgil Creek data. Since its inception in 2002, the Fall Creek Watershed Committee Volunteer Monitoring Partnership has provided benefits to individual volunteers and their communities in the watershed: ■ Volunteers have become better educated about water quality and water resource management issues, increasing their sense of stewardship and helping build grassroots support for protecting Fall Creek, Virgil Creek and Cayuga Lake; ■ For municipalities required to meet Phase II Stormwater regulations, volunteer monitoring partnerships meet the minimum requirements for public participation; ■ Because the Community Science Institute's laboratory is certified by the New York State Department of Health - Environmental Laboratory Approval Program (FLAP # 11790, EPA Lab ID# 01518), monitoring activities have resulted in chemical and microbiological data that are considered management quality and acceptable by all levels of government; ■ Individual municipalities required to monitor stormwater have realized cost savings on the order. of 90% due to volunteers donating their time to collect samples, agencies providing in.kind contributions of staff time and resources; the banal analyses; multiple ' feed la tin certified Y . Community Science Institute g municipalities in the watershed sharing the balance of the cost of the monitoring program; ■ The Fall Creek Watershed Committee Volunteer Monitoring Partnership has resulted in the initiation of a long-term database which, if continued over the coming years, can serve as a resource for assessing water quality trends and evaluating their effects on Cayuga Lake over time. This database expands significantly on the water quality data collected approximately once a decade by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation' s (NYSDEC) Rotating Intensive Basin Survey (RIBS) Program, filling large data gaps left by RIBS and bringing local water quality into sharper perspective; ■ By sampling at multiple locations throughout the two watersheds, the Fall Creek Watershed Committee Volunteer Monitoring Partnership makes it possible to investigate and ultimately to manage sources of pollution; and ; ■ Regular monitoring combined with USGS flow data has begun to yield estimates of the loads of nutrients, sediment and salt that are transported from Virgil Creek and Fall Creek to Cayuga Lake. These estimates contribute to understanding and, if necessary, managing these inputs. 284 Langmuir Lab/Box 1044 95 Brown Road . Ithaca NY 14850 Voice/Fax 607 257 6606 Certified Water Testing NYSDOH-ELAP #11790 EPA Lab Code NY01518 Stephen Penningroth Executive Director vnfo@contmunhyscienceorg> m 3 5i Community Science Institute www.communityscience.org Volunteer Monitoring Watershed Science Risk Communication Activities proposed for 2007 Fall Creek - Virgil Creek monitoring program Monitoring. Volunteers and agency staff will continue to monitor the same nine sites as they have since 2002 plus three sites on upper Fall Creek that were added in 2006. The Community Science Institute will continue to provide technical and laboratory support. Data analysis interpretation and communication: Graphs and tables analyzing Fall Creek and Virgil Creek monitoring data will be posted on CSI' s website and .updated as new data are collected and entered in MS Excel. For examples of the kinds of graphs and tables that will be used to interpret and communicate Fall Creek and Virgil Creek monitoring data, visit the Six Mile Creek page on CSI' s website at www.communityscience.ora/SixMile/SIXMileCreek.htnil. Monitoring results will also be resu presented to the general public at the Volunteer Monitoring Symposium in December, 2007 . Volunteers will be encouraged to communicate water quality results, to their friends, neighbors, local governments and civic organizations as a way of building awareness and interest in regional water resources and their management. . Volunteer retention and recruitment: The Fall Creek Watershed Committee has persisted in its volunteer monitoring activities over a period of four years. Natural attrition has reduced the number of volunteers. FCWC is taking the lead in recruiting new volunteers. Cooperative Extension will support FCWC ' s outreach and recruitment efforts. CSI' s website will augment volunteer recruitment strategies. Refresher workshops: CSI will offer refresher workshops on monitoring techniques upon request by volunteers. Workshops for new volunteers will be provided by CSI on an as needed basis. Volunteer Monitoring S"posium: Cooperative Extension will take the lead in planning and organizing the third annual Volunteer Monitoring Symposium to report to interested citizens on water quality and. recognize volunteers' crucial role in assessing the state of our streams. In addition to FCWC volunteers, volunteers from CSI' s five other volunteer monitoring partnerships, municipal officials, Water Resource Council members, staff of water management agencies, and members of the public will also be invited to the symposium. 284 Langmuir Lab/Box 1044 95 Brown Road Ithaca NY 14850 Voice/Fax 607 257 6606 Certified Water Testing NYSDOH4LAP #11790 EPA Lab Code NY01518 Stephen Penningroth Executive Director vnfo@communityscience.org> m 4 Community Science Institute www.communityscience.o . Volunteer Monitoring Watershed Science Risk Communication Proposed 2007 Budget for Fall Creek and Virgil Creek Monitoring COMMUNITY SCIENCE INSTITUTE Item Cost In-kind Total S. Penningroth, Project Director 125 hours @ $40 $ 5 ,000 $ 5,000 Fringe 31 .25% $ 1 ,563 $ 12563 Webmaster 50 hours $20 $ 100 $ 19000 Fringe on sal 12.5% $ 125 $ 125 Undergraduate interns and work-stud student 150 hours @ $2.50 $ 375 $ 375 Certified analyses of water samples (5 events x 12 sites x 12 $ 8,064 $ 2,016 $ 10,080 , parameters x $ 14 Volunteer workshops $ 700 $ 700 Bookkeeper 15 hours @ $35 $ 525 $ 525 Phone $ 20 $ 20 TOTAL DIRECT COSTS $ 169672 $ 2,716 $ 19,388 Indirect costs (15%) $ 29501 $ 407 $ 29908 TOTAL COST $ 19, 173 139123 $229296 CORNELL COOPERATIVE EXTENSION OF TOMPKINS COUNTY Item Cost In-kind Total Tania Schusler, Environmental Issues Educator $ 500 $ 500 Fringe benefits In-kind $ 200 $ 200 Travel r$ 22 - $ 10 Printing and postage for publicity $ 50 Volunteer monitoring symposium $ 200 TOTAL DIRECT COSTS $ 200 $ 960 Indirect costs 15% 114 $ 30 $ 144 TOTAL COST $ 874 $ 230 $ 1 , 104 TOMPKINS COUNTY SOIL AND.WATER CONSERVATION DISTRICT Item Cost In-kind Total Craig Schutt, Director, 20 hrs $ 600 $ 600 Jon Ne le , Conservation Technician, 25 hrs $ 625 $ 625 TOTAL DIRECT COSTS $ 1 ,225 1 $ 1 ,225 Indirect costs 15% $ 184 1 $ 184 TOTAL COST 1 $ 19409 $ 1 ,409 284 Langmuir Lab/Box 1044 95 Brown Road Ithaca NY 14850 Voice/Fax 607 257 6606 Certified Water Testing NYSDOH-ELAP #11790 EPA Lab Code NY01518 Stephen Penningroth Executive Director 4n/o@commun11yscience:-org> m 5 Community Science Institute www.communityscience.org Volunteer Monitoring Watershed Science Risk Communication CORTLAND COUNTY SOIL AND WATER CONSERVATION DISTRICT Item Cost In-kind Total Pat Reidy Sr. Water Quality Specialist $ 300 $ 300 Darrel Stur ess, Environmental Technician $ 625 $ 625 TOTAL DIRECT COSTS $ 925 $ 925 Indirect costs 15% $ 139 $ 139 TOTAL COSTS $ 19064 $ 19064 FALL CREEK WATERSHED COMMITTEE Item Cost In-kind Total George Patte, Chair, 80 hrs $ 16/hr $ 1 ,280 $ 1 ,280 Five 5 FCWC volunteers x 30 hrs @ $ 16/hr $2,400 $29400 TOTAL COST $3 ,680 $3;680 BUDGET SUMMARY Item Total Total Agency and Volunteer Cost $ 29,553 Less Agency and Volunteer In-kind $ 99506 Less TCSWCD contribution toward certified analyses costs L-LOWPA $ 41000 Less Cortland SWCD contribution toward certified analyses costs L-LOWPA $ 2,200 Net Program Cost $ 13,847 2007 Stakeholder Cost Small stakeholders, $250 each: T. Virgil, T. Harford, V. Freeville $ 750 Large Stakeholders, $ 1 ,637 each: City of Ithaca, T. Ithaca, T. Dryden, T. Groton, $ 13 ,097 V. Cayuga Heights, V. Dryden, V. Groton, Cornell University Explanation of budget. Changes from 2006 : The total cost is slightly more than 2006 ($28,759 in 2006 compared to $29,553 in 2007) while the net cost has increased from $8,340 to $ 13 ,847. The increase in net cost is due primarily to three factors: a) An increase in CSI salaries and elimination of in-kind contributions for salaries and benefits; b) The need to maintain CSI's website and use it as a tool in community outreach and education; and c) An 8% increase in analyses costs (these costs had remained essentially level for two years). Stakeholders are divided into two groups: Three small stakeholders (T. Virgil, T. Harford, V. Freeville) who are asked to contribute $250 each; and eight large stakeholders (C. Ithaca, T. Ithaca, T. Dryden, T. Groton, V. Cayuga Heights, V. Dryden, V. Groton, Cornell University) who are asked to contribute $ 1 ,637 each. 284 Langmuir Lab/Box 1044 95 Brown Road Ithaca NY 14850 Voice/Fax 607 257 6606 Certified Water Testing NYSDOH-ELAP #11790 EPA Lab Code NY01518 Stephen Penningroth Executive Director q<info@communityscience org> m 6 Community Science Institute www.communityscience.org Volunteer Monitoring Watershed Science Risk Communication Proiect Director: This position includes overall project administration and management; acting as Technical Director of CSI' s laboratory and assuring that data quality objectives are met; supervising four to five part-time employees, including two laboratory technicians, the webmaster, and student employees; providing technical and laboratory support for volunteer monitoring groups and their agency partners, analyzing and interpreting raw monitoring data and communicating results, including the preparation of graphs, tables and explanatory text for posting on the Fall Creek and Virgil Creek pages of CSI' s website; and encouraging public discussion of water quality and water resource management issues. Dr. Stephen Penningroth holds a Ph.D. in Biochemical Sciences and serves as CSI' s Executive Director as well as Technical Director of CSI' s certified laboratory. Certified' Analyses of Water Samples : Analyses are performed in CSI' s independent - certified water quality testing laboratory (NYS Dept. of Health — Environmental Laboratory Approval Program # 11790, EPA Lab ID NY01518) located in room 284 of the Langmuir Laboratory, 95 Brown Road, in the Cornell Business and Technology Park. Laboratory test results are certified; are considered management-quality; and are acceptable to municipal, county,, state and federal governments. CSI provides an average discount of 20% on analyses performed on samples collected by volunteers. Analyses costs include hourly wages and fringe for two part-time laboratory technicians, consumable laboratory supplies; certification fees to the New York Department of Health . — Environmental Laboratory Approval Program (NYSDOH-ELAP); and equipment . maintenance, calibration and repair: Undergraduate Interns and Work-Study Students : Summer interns and academic year work-study students from Cornell University and Ithaca College are playing a critical role in developing and maintaining CSI' s website as a forum for disseminating water quality results and promoting public understanding of water resource management issues. Students enter raw monitoring data in MS Excel spreadsheets; design graphs and tables using advanced functions in MS Excel; and assist the webmaster in maintaining the website. Work-study students are paid $ 10/hour of which Cornell University pays $7.50 and CSI pays $2. 50 . Without dedicated students giving of their time and talent, the CSI website would be neither possible nor affordable. Webmaster: This position is responsible for maintaining, improving and updating the CSI website with assistance from work-study students and interns. Indirect Costs : Overhead costs covered by this surcharge include rent on 330 square feet of lab space that doubles as office space, telephone and internet fees, commercial liability and workers compensation insurance, telephone and internet fees, and professional services such as income tax preparation. 284 Langmuir Lab/Box 1044 95 Brown Road Ithaca NY 14850 Voice/Fax 607 257 6606 Certified Water Testing NYSDOH-ELAP #11790 EPA Lab Code NY01518 Stephen Penningroth Executive Director <info@communityscience.otg'> Community Science Institute www. commumtyscience.org Volunteer Monitoring Watershed Science Risk Communication Request to Town of Ithaca to Share Cost of Water Quality Monitoring Partnerships Background The Town of Ithaca has contributed to the cost of volunteer-agency monitoring partnerships in Six Mile Creek since 2004 and in Fall Creek since 2005 . The partnerships include the Six Mile Creek Volunteers, the volunteer Fall Creek Watershed Committee, the Community Science Institute, Cornell Cooperative Extension, and the Tompkins County Soil and Water Conservation District. Initiation of a Cayuga Inlet water quality monitoring partnership is planned for 2007, contingent on funding. Significance of water quality monitoring 1 . Water is the single most important economic resource in our region 2 . MS4 : The southern end of Cayuga Lake is listed as an impaired waterbody by the USEPA due to excessive nutrients and sediment 3 . Cayuga Lake' s water quality is determined by its tributary streams 4 . To restore and protect Cayuga Lake, it is essential to identify, investigate and manage sources of pollutants in tributary streams 5 . Tracking water quality at several locations along the length of a stream provides documentation of pollutants and creates a factual framework for managing them 6 . Monitoring water quality as a partnership between citizen volunteers, a certified laboratory, and government agencies is like taking out a double insurance policy on water resources : It creates a database to document water quality problems and trends, and it builds grassroots support for protecting water resources. Products 1 . Certified water quality data at very low cost. Data are comparable to LSC monitoring data and less expensive . 2 . Archive, analyze and report results via CSI' s website 3 . Build grassroots support and understanding for managing water resources 4. Meet minimum public participation requirements under MS4 Cost comparison with LSC monitoring (Note: LSC figures are estimated) LSC : 1 ,400 water quality data items per year @ approx. $ 100,000 = $71/data item CSI: 1 ,534 ,data items in 2007 for Six Mile Creek and Fall Creek Total cost = $66,993 or $44/data item Net cost = $31 ,201 or $20/data item Town of Ithaca share of net cost = $5,976 or $4/data item Low net cost is due to volunteer and agency in-kind contributions of time, FL-LOWPA funds, and sharing costs among municipalities and other stakeholders 284 Langmuir Lab/Box 1044 95 Brown Road Ithaca NY 14850 Voice/Fax 607 257 6606 Certified Water Testing NYSDOH-ELAP #11790 EPA Lab Code NY01518 Stephen Penningroth Executive Director 4n/o@communityscienceorg>