Water monitoring volunteers needed
In 1996, the Volunteer Water Information Network (VWIN) program was established as a water quality monitoring program for many Western North Carolina counties. In Haywood County, Haywood Waterways Association manages 25 sites on 19 streams. The program’s purpose is to provide long term water quality monitoring information to help leverage grant funding for water quality improvement projects.
Word from the Smokies: Backcountry rangers hike to help
Backcountry rangers Lydia Williams and Jordan Gibeault have almost reached their destination, Kephart Prong Shelter, when they purposefully veer off trail. They descend a slight hill, emerge into a small creekside clearing, and immediately turn their attention to a rocky outcrop protruding from the hillside. It’s ringed with stones and filled with ash. “This is a great example of an illegal fire ring,” Williams said. “Every time we come here, we’re dealing with it again and again.”
Wastewater monitoring offers reliable health data
If you want to know whether COVID-19 infections are rising or falling, look to the sewers. Wastewater monitoring (also known as wastewater surveillance or wastewater-based epidemiology) offers a novel way to monitor the health of a population as a whole.
