Florida LAKEWATCH works directly with citizens who live on (or use) lakes, rivers or waterways and are willing to participate in a long-term monitoring effort.

To become part of the LAKEWATCH team, volunteers are required to have access to a boat, practically any kind, and complete a training session on their lake which takes about two hours. The training session includes learning techniques for collecting water samples, filtering lake water to obtain algae samples, and taking Secchi disk readings (or water clarity readings).

Once the volunteer is certified by one of our LAKEWATCH staff and sampling sites are established, he/she samples their lake(s) once a month for a minimum of two years. The lake sampling equipment is supplied by the LAKEWATCH program.

The information compiled from these samplings is used to create a long-term data base that can serve as documentation of current water chemistry conditions-to be compared with future water chemistry conditions. LAKEWATCH data also provide much needed information for lake management decisions.

LAKEWATCH Regional Meetings

Once a year, LAKEWATCH staff scientists meet with the volunteers (and other interested parties) to provide an interpretation of the findings, as well as general information on lake management and lake ecology. Upcoming meetings are listed on the home page.

In return for their participation in LAKEWATCH, volunteers receive:

• a quarterly educational newsletter,
• supplies and use of sampling equipment,
• individualized training in monitoring procedures,
• periodic reports on their lake, including an annual data packet for their lake,
• access to lake experts and
• invitations to regularly scheduled LAKEWATCH meetings.

Page updated July 3, 2008