Become an Emerging Contaminants Monitor
Help protect our three riversWhy do you monitor emerging contaminants?
An emerging contaminant is anything in our rivers and lakes that we don’t typically monitor but could adversely impact the health of our water and the human and aquatic life that depends on it. Samples collected for this project will be analyzed for over 60 compounds including prescription drugs, antibiotics, herbicides, personal care products, and even vanilla and cinnamon.
What do volunteer Emerging Contaminant Monitors do?
Milwaukee Riverkeeper works in partnership with Carroll University, theUrban Ecology Center, and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’sSchool of Freshwater SciencesandSchool of Public Health to study these emerging contaminants in our Milwaukee River Basin.
Volunteers will go to their appointed sampling site to fill a 500 mL sample bottle with water, and researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee School’s of Freshwater Sciences and School of Public Health will test the samples for emerging contaminants.
How do I become an Emerging Contaminants Monitor?
Let us know you are interested in emerging contaminants monitoring by filling out the form below. We’ll add you to our email list to receive more information about upcoming training sessions and other opportunities to get involved. If you have additional questions, please email our Water Quality Specialist Zac Driscoll or call (414) 287-0207 x4.
When do you monitor emerging contaminants?
Every Black Friday, we look for volunteers to #OptOutside as part of REI’s efforts to celebrate the outdoors and its benefits! We host a “Blue Friday” Water Sampling event where volunteers will collect samples from 1 of our 14 Emerging Contaminants Monitoring Sites. Samples for this project can be collected anytime that day.