The 2007 Great North American Secchi Dip-In

The 2007 Great North American Secchi Dip-In
June 23 to July 15, 2006

The annual Secchi Dip-In is in its 14th year. Thanks to the participation of volunteers in programs such as yours, the Dip-In continues to demonstrate that volunteers can collect quality data over an entire continent.

The Dip-In is a network of volunteer programs, each supplying the data for local programs and, together with all the other Dip-In participants, gathering and providing continent-wide (and world-wide) information.

Please think of participating long-term in the Dip-In. It is critical that we know if our nations' waters are degrading or not. Although each of us can answer this question on a local basis with our volunteer data, we need to see the big picture as well.

To date Dip-In volunteers have provided data on more than 1,800 waterbodies for five or more years. We encourage stream, estuary, and marine programs, as well as lake and reservoir programs to participate. We accept data from all sorts of turbidity instruments, not only Secchi disks, as well as temperature, pH, oxygen, chlorophyll, and total phosphorus. Data from any part of the year are always welcome.

We are again asking your help to notify your volunteers of the Dip-In. Please use the Dip-In event to advertise your own program's efforts. There is a Dip-In Announcement and a press release you can modify at our website.

A copy of a 2007 Dip-In questionnaire is also available at our site although we strongly encourage volunteers to enter the data at the website. If your program has never participated before, please let me know who you are so that we can assign an ID number to your volunteers. We hope that you will continue to participate this year

Bob Carlson
Dip-In Coordinator
Dept. of Biological Sciences
Phone: 330-672-3992
Kent State University
E-Mail: rcarlson@kent.eduKent, OH 44242

North American Lake Management Society Seeks Executive Director

The North American Lake Management Society (NALMS) is seeking a dedicated and motivated Executive Director with demonstrated leadership, organization development, and financial skills.

Since 1980, NALMS has been forging partnerships among citizens, scientists, and professionals to foster sound management and protection of lakes and reservoirs for today and tomorrow. Lake management is viewed within a watershed context reaching beyond lakes to include land use, streams, wetlands and even estuaries. An annual symposium, quarterly magazine and professional journal extend lake management information to its members and others interested in lakes. NALMS is a 501 (c) 3 membership organization based in Madison, Wisconsin with an international Board of Directors.

The primary responsibilities of the Executive Director are to accomplish the organization’s vision and strategic direction, to raise and manage funds, to develop and expand membership, to supervise staff and support the Board of Directors, and to oversee programs and day-to-day operations. Please visit www.nalms.org for a detailed position description and other organizational information.

Desired qualifications include at least five years of proven leadership experience in a comparable organization; a bachelor’s degree in environmental science, business, organizational development or public/non-profit administration (Master’s preferred); experience with personnel and office management; excellent written and verbal communication skills with audiences of varied backgrounds and interests. Some travel required, salary and relocation expenses negotiable. NALMS is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

To apply, please email resume, salary history and four professional references to Dick Osgood at: dickosgood@usinternet.com by July 27, 2007. Inquiries may be made to Dick Osgood or Sharon Anderson at: steward@cayugalake.org - Please do not make inquiries to the NALMS office.

Money: An Insider's View of the Water Business - U.S. News

Nicholas DeBenedictis draws on credentials from both sides of the fence when he says business can do a better job than government at the essential service of providing clean drinking water. Although he's served for 14 years as chief executive of Aqua America, the largest U.S.-based publicly traded water company, in the 1980s he held two of Pennsylvania's top state government posts: head of the Office of Economic Development and, later, secretary of environmental resources. As a trained engineer and former president of the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, he's keenly aware of the work that needs to be done on the nation's water infrastructure and the importance of finding a reasonable way to pay for it.

Recently, DeBenedictis has been an outspoken opponent of private-equity firms' involvement in water systems. Some observers point out that DeBenedictis has good business reason to worry: The wealthy buyout firms are bidding up the price of systems that Aqua America, which has been on an aggressive acquisition spree, might like to take over. But the issues he raises about the need for long-term commitment are sure to resonate with the regulators who will scrutinize private equity's forays into the water business.

U.S. News recently talked with DeBenedictis about the challenges ahead.

The article provides some interesting insights. An added bonus is the article's sidebar of links, including:

• Q&A: Who Should Control Water?
• Water Woes
• Ways to Preserve Our Water Supply
• Sin City Is Wheeling and Dealing to Satisfy Its Cravings for Cool, Clear Water
• Harnessing a Mighty Force
• Wasteful Irrigation, Poor Sanitation, and Pollution Plague the World's Freshwater Supply
• Pipelines and Lifelines
• Help From the Hydrant
• The Coming Water Crisis (Aug. 4, 2002)

Click on Title link to view entire article. Thanks to the Source Water Collaborative for the submission.

EPA Pours $3.2 Million into Watersheds

Six finalists are eligible to apply for $3.2 million from EPA's Targeted Watersheds Grants to provide support to watershed organizations throughout the nation. These capacity-building grants will range from $300,000 to $800,000 each. They are awarded to organizations that promote the growth and development of local watershed partnerships through training and technical assistance.

"These targeted grants reflect the administration's commitment to community-based, cooperative conservation and will grow grassroots partnerships for clean and healthy watersheds across America," said Assistant Administrator for Water Benjamin H. Grumbles.

This year, two finalists have a national focus, and four will support watershed groups in three regions: the Great Plains, arid West and Appalachia. The nationally-focused projects will offer training to up-and-coming watershed organization leaders, create a community of capacity-builders to help the watershed community grow and develop a clearinghouse to provide direct assistance to watershed organizations.

The finalists for national projects are:

• Center for Watershed Protection
• River Network

The finalists for regionally focused projects are:

• Eastern Coal Regional Roundtable – training in water quality monitoring and fiscal sustainability of grassroots organizations in Appalachian coal country
• University of North Carolina Chapel Hill – providing practical tools such as model ordinances and public process facilitation to watershed organizations in Appalachia and the Southeast
• Trees, Water, and People – educating local decision-makers and engaging local citizens in watershed protection projects in the arid West
• National Heritage Institute – offering training and technical assistance with market-based approaches to restoring critical flow back to streams in the Sierra Nevada Ecoregion

Targeted Watersheds Grants encourage protection and restoration of the nation's watersheds. Watershed health is important to providing clean water where Americans live, work and play. Since 2003, more than $40 million has been provided through EPA Targeted Watersheds Grants. This is the second time that capacity building grants have been awarded. Targeted Watersheds implementation grants for local projects will be awarded later this year.

Click on Title link to view entire article.

The planet's freshwater supply is terribly managed

Just in case you HAVEN'T heard about the planet's fresh water, what with all the Global Climate chatter and all . . .

In a report issued in November, the United Nations declared water "a global crisis," announcing that 55 member nations are failing to meet their water-related Millennium Development Goal target, agreed upon in 2000, of halving the proportion of people without clean water and sanitation by 2015. The real crisis, experts say, is not a lack of water but a lack of water management. Water doesn't always appear in the right places, or at the right times. And it has to be cared for. "It's a terrible situation around the world," says Peter Rogers, a Harvard environmental engineering professor, "but it doesn't have to be."

Click on Title link to view entire article. Thanks to Jane Dauffenbach of Aquarius Systems once again for the submission.

EPA Seeking Comments on Draft List of Pesticides - Endocrine Distruptors

EPA is seeking public comment on a draft list of 73 pesticide chemicals that was published in a June 2007 Federal Register Notice (PDF). The chemicals selected are the first to be considered for screening under the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. The chemicals selected are the first to be considered for screening under the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. This list should not be construed as a list of known or likely endocrine disruptors. Nothing in the approach for generating the initial list provides a basis to infer that any of the chemicals selected interfere with or are suspected to interfere with the endocrine systems of humans or other species.

Click on Title link to view entire article. Thanks to Jane Dauffenbach of Aquarius Systems for the submission.

Michigan offers on-line access to Water Quality Data

The Department of Environmental Quality, in cooperation with the Department of Natural Resources and Department of Information Technology, announced today the availability of the Michigan Surface Water Information Management (MiSWIM) system.

The MiSWIM system is a new, state-of-the-art Internet mapping application designed to provide the public easy access to water quality (biological, chemical, and physical) data and other information that has been obtained for Michigan's rivers, lakes, and streams. Types of water quality information available to MiSWIM system users include: water and sediment chemistry, fish contaminants, E. coli bacteria, fish and aquatic macroinvertebrate communities, river flow, fish stocking, lake bathymetry, river valley segments, industrial and municipal wastewater discharge sites, septage land disposal sites, coldwater and natural river classifications, nonpoint source program grants, land use classifications, soil types, and aerial photographs.

Click on Title link to view entire article. Thanks once again to Jane Dauffenbach of Aquarius Systems for the submission.

EPA Seeks Drinking Water Utilities for Contaminant Warning System Pilot Projects

EPA is requesting applications for drinking water contamination warning system demonstration pilots as part of the Agency's Water Security (WS) initiative.  A contaminant warning system uses advanced monitoring technologies/strategies and enhanced surveillance activities to collect, integrate, analyze, and communicate information to provide a timely warning of potential water contamination incidents in order to minimize public health and economic impacts.  Applications must address specified monitoring and surveillance components, a consequence management plan, and a review and evaluation plan.  EPA anticipates that approximately $31 million will be available to fund up to four cooperative agreements for these demonstration pilots, depending on Agency funding levels and other applicable considerations.   The federal portion for each cooperative agreement is anticipated to range between $3 million and $12 million and awardees will have to provide a minimum 20 percent cost-share/match of the total project cost. 

Applications will be accepted only from local governments or institutions (either public or private nonprofit organizations) that operate community water systems serving at least 750,000 people.  Applications through grants.gov must be received by 11:59 pm (EDT) on August 10, 2007.  The Request for Applications and additional information on the WS initiative is available at http://cfpub.epa.gov/safewater/watersecurity/initiative.cfm.  

Click on Title link for more information. Thanks to EPA's Water Headlines for the submission.

Resources about the Survey of the Nation's Lakes

Following are several resources that you can use if you want to learn more about or develop an article for your newsletter regarding the Survey of the Nation's Lakes.

1. Visit EPA's Web site re: the Survey of the Nation's Lakes
at http://www.epa.gov/owow/lakes/lakessurvey/
2. See tha new fact sheet "Survey of the Nation's Lakes: A Fact Sheet for Communities - May 2007" (2pp, 113KB) posted at: http://www.epa.gov/owow/lakes/lakessurvey/pdf/lakescommunity_factsheet.pdf
3. Finally, also see sample outreach that the State of Wisconsin has done about the Survey of the Nation's Lakes at: http://www.epa.gov/owow/lakes/lakessurvey/outreach/index.html

If you do write something for your newsletter, EPA would love to see it and could also add a link to your article from their Website. See contact info below.

Submitted by:
Anne Weinberg, Communications Coordinator
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Assessment and Watershed Protection Division

Phone: 202-566-1217
Fax: 202-566-1333
Email: weinberg.anne@epa.gov

EPA Delivers First National Estuary Condition Report

EPA Delivers First National Estuary Condition Report

EPA has released its first National Estuary Program Coastal Condition
Report, which ranks the condition of ecological resources in the 28
estuaries of EPA's National Estuary Program (NEP). This report serves
as a foundation for EPA's efforts to protect, manage and restore
coastal ecosystems.

"As we celebrate the 20th anniversary of the National Estuary Program, we are seeing that nothing can compare to the value of partnerships in delivering lasting environmental results," said EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson. "Under the leadership of President Bush, more than
1 million acres of coastal habitat have been restored and protected.
Together with our vital partners, EPA is ensuring our coasts and
wetlands remain beautiful, ecologically-sound treasures for generations of Americans."

Overall, the NEPs are in fair condition and scored better than or equal to all other non-NEP U.S. estuaries despite significant population pressures. The information in the report is based upon EPA-sponsored monitoring data collected from 28 NEPs between 1999 and 2003 as well as
monitoring data collected by the individual NEPs.

The data were collected as part of EPA's National Coastal Assessment - the most comprehensive and nationally consistent data set available on estuarine conditions. The NEP estuaries were rated individually, regionally, and nationally using four primary indicators of estuarine condition: water quality, sediment quality, benthic (bottom) condition,
and fish-tissue contaminant concentrations.

While population pressures in the NEPs were greater than those in the non-NEP estuaries from 1990-2000, the NEP estuaries showed the same estuarine conditions as, or better than, other coastal waters overall.
By 2000, more than two-thirds of the coastal population lived in NEP
counties, which comprise less than six percent of the coastal land
area.

Twenty-eight of the nation's estuaries are located in 18 coastal states and Puerto Rico. They have been designated as estuaries of national significance because of their unique economic, ecological, recreational and aesthetic values.

In the United States, estuaries provide habitat for more than 75
percent of America's commercial fish catch. Estuarine-dependent
fisheries are among the most valuable, with an estimated worth of more than $1.9 billion nationwide. Coastal recreation and tourism generate an additional $8 to $12 billion annually.

NEP Coastal Condition Report: epa.gov/owow/oceans/nepccr/index.html

Submitted by:
Anne Weinberg, Communications Coordinator
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Assessment and Watershed Protection Division

The Survey of the Nation's Lakes Initiated June 2007

The Survey of the Nation's Lakes

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), states, and tribes are conducting a nationwide survey this summer of the condition of the
nation's lakes. The survey will help citizens and governments measure the health of our waters, take actions to prevent pollution, and
evaluate the effectiveness of protection and restoration efforts.

Designed to estimate the percentage of lakes that are in good, fair, or poor condition, the survey will serve as a scientific report card on
America's lakes. It will examine ecological, water quality, and
recreational indicators, and assess how widespread key stressors (such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and acidification) are across the country.

The survey is a collaborative effort that involves dozens of state environmental and natural resource agencies, federal agencies, universities and other organizations. In most states, state water quality staff will conduct the water quality sampling and habitat assessments.

A total of 909 lakes - representing five size classes and distributed relatively evenly across the lower 48 states - are included in the
survey. A pilot project is also underway in Alaska. EPA selected the lakes from the nation's natural and man-made freshwater lakes, ponds and reservoirs. Lakes must be at least one meter deep and over ten acres in size. The survey does not include the Great Lakes or the Great Salt Lake. Lakes were selected randomly using a statistical survey design to represent the population of lakes in their ecological region - the
geographic area in which climate, ecological features, and plant and
animal communities are similar.

If your lake is being sampled for this survey, it was selected randomly from the population of lakes in your part of the country. Your lake was not selected because it exhibits any particular problem or water quality condition, or because it was recommended for sampling by an agency or organization. When the final report on the Survey of the Nation's Lakes is written, data from your lake will contribute to the regional and national picture of lake condition.

If your lake is not being sampled for this survey, it was not omitted for any particular reason, but rather because it was not randomly
selected or did not fit into the target population of lakes (e.g., those greater than ten acres in area and at least one meter deep).

Many volunteer monitoring groups and lake associations have years of sampling data for their lakes, data vital to local lake management
activities. This survey will provide a regional and national - and in some cases, statewide - assessment of lake condition. It will also allow those with sampling data on their lake to compare the condition of their lake to the range of lakes in their region or state.

Field crews will be taking many measurements at each selected lake. They will be using consistent procedures at all sites so that results can be compared across the country. They will be measuring such things as:

-Temperature, dissolved oxygen, nutrients, chlorophyll a, water
clarity, turbidity, and color
- Condition of the habitat along the shoreline
- Zooplankton and phytoplankton -- microscopic animals and plants in
the water that are an important part of the food chain
- Aquatic macroinvertebrates -- small animals such as insects and
snails that are a source of food for fish and birds
- Bacteria -- indicators of fecal contamination from animals or
humans.

They will also be taking sediment cores from the bottom of the lake.

Sampling will be conducted during the summer of 2007. EPA intends to issue a report on the findings in 2009. Between the time lakes are
sampled and the national report is published, samples will be analyzed in the lab, the data will be entered into a database and analyzed, and a draft report will be written and reviewed. The public will have the
opportunity to review and comment on the draft report.

For more information visit: www.epa.gov/owow/lakes/lakessurvey, or email questions to lakessurvey@epa.gov

A copy of the above information is available as formatted flyer with graphics at:
http://www.epa.gov/owow/lakes/lakessurvey/pdf/lakescommunity_factsheet.pdf

Contributed by:
Anne Weinberg, Communications Coordinator
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Assessment and Watershed Protection Division