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            Auburn University - University Relations
                         (334) 844-9999
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4/19/95                                    Bob Lowry/Katie Skala 

WATER SAMPLES TO BE TAKEN AS PART OF 'EARTH DAY CHALLENGE'
     AUBURN -- Alabamians concerned with the environment will
measure the water quality of streams in their areas on Saturday as
part of the "Earth Day Challenge" of the Alabama Water Watch
Program.
     The water quality monitoring program is coordinated by Auburn
University faculty.
     "We hope that the water quality snapshot that we take this
Earth Day will represent the largest number of water samples ever
simultaneously gathered in Alabama," says William Deutsch, a
Research Fellow in AU's Department of Fisheries and Allied
Aquacultures. "The results should be exciting and instrumental in
raising awareness of water issues and policies in the state,
including the role of citizens in managing our water resources."
     Deutsch says test results from around the state that are taken
on Saturday will be summarized for a public report.
     Alabama Water Watch, funded in part by the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency and the Alabama Department of Environmental
Management, was developed in 1993 by the AU Department of Fisheries
and Allied Aquacultures.
     Water Watch coordinators conduct workshops regularly
throughout the state, training volunteers to collect water samples
and test them for dissolved oxygen, pH, hardness, alkalinity,
temperature and clarity. The participants also learn to use
organism inhabitation statistics and organism pollution tolerance
to determine the ecological condition of the water source. They
then send their findings to program organizers at AU for analysis
and summary.
     "There are about 50 groups around Alabama that have taken part
in our training workshops and are presently collecting water data
near their homes," says Deutsch. "To date, the groups have
monitored about 150 sites on more than 60 water bodies."
     About one-third of the monitoring teams are school groups,
with the rest ranging from canoeing clubs to individual volunteers.

# # # april95:earthday 
(Auburn-Opelika area residents who want to participate in sampling
local streams Saturday may contact Deutsch at 334/844-9119 or
334/844-4785. A 15-seat van will be leaving from the Fisheries
Department parking lot at 8 a.m.)