Inland Empire Waterkeeper - Our Work - Programs

Snapshot Day

New! SNAPSHOT DAY, 2008
Supported by: Mr. Krick and students from La Sierra High School
Ms. Hampton, Mr. Pitruzzello and students from King High School
May 10, 2008

What is “Snapshot Day”?

In honor of Water Awareness Month, citizen water monitors located all over the country take samples of local creeks each May and compare results from previous years to “snapshot” the water quality. In May of 2006, Inland Empire Waterkeeper facilitated a Snapshot Day event where 16 sites were sampled. We repeated many of those same sites this year on May 10, 2008 with the help of two groups of high school students from La Sierra High School (LSHS Alvord Unified School District) and King High School (KHS Riverside Unified School District).

Water was found flowing at all locations; no accidents occurred and all returned by noon. Teams noted the abundance of trash and green algae along the shores and within the creeks – signs of public neglect and disregard for potentially beautiful waterways. Teams also noted the many birds, bugs, beetles, and lizards that lived among the algae and trash.

Where did they go?

Led by Mr. John Krick, a science teacher at LSHS and assisted by Waterkeeper Staffer Autumn DeWoody, five LSHS students sampled the biological, chemical and physical health of three major tributaries to Reach 3 of the Santa Ana River at, (1) Cajalco Road bridge and Temescal Creek in Corona, (2) Lincoln Street bridge and Temescal Creek in Corona, (3) Chino Creek and Pine Avenue in Chino, and (4) Mill Creek (Cucamonga Creek) and Chino Corona Road in Chino.

Jointly led by Ms. Michele Hampton and Mr. Trey Pitruzzello, both science teachers at KHS and assisted by Waterkeeper volunteer Catrina Paez, eleven KHS students sampled three highly modified creeks and arroyos in the City of Riverside at, (1) Sycamore Creek in Castleview Park, (2) Sycamore Creek in Andulka Park, (3) Alessandro Arroyo at Corinthian Way and Berry Way, and (4) Gage Canal at Washington Street between Dufferin and Bradley.

What did they sample for?

Each team measured the following using a combination of kits and meters:

Air temperature
Water temperature
Dissolved oxygen
Phosphate
NitrateNitrogen
AmmoniaNitrogen
pH
Conductivity

What did they find?

To learn more about what they found, and see charts of their results, open the full report.

Snapshot Day 2006 Monitors Inland Empire Water Quality

mandy snapshot day On May 20, 2006, volunteers of Inland Empire Waterkeeper and the Riverside/Corona Resource Conservation District participated in California’s fourth coastwide water quality monitoring event of the year. Fourteen Inland Empire sites were tested, creating a “snapshot” of water quality in our area. The volunteers included non-profit environmental groups, as well as interested citizens. The samplers were trained in collecting samples and used analytical methods approved by the state to assure data accuracy.

As expected, the results of the water quality tests came back poor. All streams suffer from excess nutrients, and many from high bacteria counts as well. Although poor results were expected, poor water quality is a concern for all inland residents.

The data gathered during this monitoring event will be used to increase public awareness of the water quality issues affecting our watersheds and the ocean, to emphasize the importance of water quality monitoring, and to demonstrate the key role volunteer monitors play. This test demonstrates that, overall, Inland Empire water quality is poor and is in continuing need of improvement.