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Special Watershed Action Volunteers (WAVs are people who help to make our lives better by working for healthier watersheds, and have lots of fun in the process!!) - Water Watchers volunteer to monitor water quality in our local Alachua County waterways.

The WAV program is administered through the St Johns Water Management District; for more information on how to become a Watershed Action Volunteer in Alachua County, contact Lesley Leader, Alachua County WAV Coordinator at LLeader@alachua.fl.us or at (352)264-6826.

Throughout northeast and east-central Florida, participants in the Watershed Action Volunteer (WAV) Program are helping to establish a baseline on the health of various water bodies in the St. Johns River Water Management District’s service area.

While District and other agency scientists perform water quality sampling on the St. Johns River, its tributaries and other water bodies, the information gathered by WAVs helps give a broader picture of the health of surface water because of the many areas where samples are taken.

You too can become part of this effort - to sign up as a Water Watcher in Alachua County, please contact Lesley Leader, Watershed Action Volunteer Coordinator, at: LLeader@alachua.fl.us or at (352)264-6826. You can also sign up online at http://sjr.state.fl.us/programs/outreach/education/wav/wav_form.html.

The water quality data that you collect as a WaterWatcher will be entered into an online database designed to allow you to search for information by watershed, county and water body and to determine levels of dissolved oxygen, pH and chemicals in the water’s makeup. The site is updated as information is gathered in the field. To view the site visit http://www.sjrwmd.com/wav/.