 |
|
 |
 |
SVTC HOME > WATER > CLEAN STREAMS/CLEAN BAY
Clean Streams/ Clean Bay Community Watershed Monitoring Project
NEW REPORT
Dedicated Environmental Students from East San Jose Make a Difference
 Did you know that people of color and lower socio-economic communities are less aware of water contamination and the health hazards from eating contaminated fish from our local streams? Early this year, Elisa Nolan and Ada Marquez Gonzalo implemented SVTC's Clean Streams/Clean Bay Community Watershed Project. A grant from the Santa Clara Valley Water District provided funding to conduct community outreach in East San Jose and to investigate potential pollutants in Coyote Creek. Elisa provided the scientific expertise for the project and Ada's first task was to find a science teacher with underrepresented students to help with the project.
Posted: July 25, 2004
What is the Clean Streams/Clean Bay Program?
Public participation and public right-to-know are key components of Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition's Sustainable Water Program. One of the outreach projects of the Sustainable Water Program, directed at community involvement, is the Clean Streams/ Clean Bay Community Watershed Monitoring Project. The Community Foundation Silicon Valley, San Francisco Foundation Bay Fund, and the Santa Clara Valley Water District currently fund this project.
Innovative design and integrated approach to water quality monitoring:
 Use of freshwater clams, contained in mesh bags in specific sections of south Bay watersheds, for a period of time, to monitor for persistent, bioaccumulative toxins in surface waters. The clams are then monitored for highly toxic organic and heavy metal contaminants such as PCBs (209 congeners plus various combinations), brominated flame retardants, and mercury. The monitoring project will be incorporating sediment sampling and filtering of particulates in addition to using tissue analysis.
Other tests conducted at deployment sites: water quality tests (stream flow, pH, dissolved oxygen, conductivity, turbidity), diversity and condition of local invertebrates, stream habitat characterization, vegetation and canopy cover, as well as evidence of wildlife and physical impacts to the watershed. The monitoring activities are integrated to gain evidence of parallels between variables, gain an ongoing understanding of stream health and potential for restoration, and to teach community members the inter-relatedness of the environment we all live in.
Community based advocacy:
Involves teaching Bay area High School students (located on or near respected watersheds) and training educators to help conduct monitoring procedures.
CSCB staff and students serve as presenters and participants in local, regional, and international workshops, seminars, and meetings on community service, community monitoring, and water quality issues.
CSCB staff represent community concerns (including environmental justice, human health, sustainability, and ecological issues) at stakeholder meetings and watershed initiative core and subgroup meetings, as well as regional policy and advocacy group hearings.
Collaborative in its approach:
Working partnerships with Pioneer, Oak Grove, and Bellermine Preparatory High School students and staff, Children's Discovery Museum of San Jose and their ongoing BioSITE Program.
Guest speakers, field trips, and technical expertise offered by (and without whom we could not offer such an in depth technical program to the students that we work with): the Regional Water Quality Control Board, Applied Marine Sciences, San Francisco Estuary Institute, Santa Clara Valley Water District, USGS Menlo Park, City of San Jose Environmental Services/ Wastewater Treatment Facilities, San Jose State University, Stanford University, Moss Landing Marine Laboratories, California State Mussel Watch Program, CRG Laboratories, as well as a myriad of other consultants and advisers.
Students were involved in conferences.
Looking to work with other High School and College students in the area, as well as additional water quality monitoring initiatives, neighborhood groups, volunteers, non-profits, communities of faith, and local organizations interested in watershed monitoring.
Links:
Clams in Creeks, by Richard McMurtry, SVTC Action, Spring 2000
Using clams to measure for PCBs
For more information contact the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition at 408-287-6707.
|
