Water Monitoring

October Monitoring Results
by Tyler Wright, Monitoring Director, TU Mad River Chapter

On October 19th we held the final stream monitoring sampling of the year. Thank you to all that attended! Numbers this year were down from 2023, where each of the sites averaged over 20 on our sampling scale. This year we only saw the West Liberty Park site score over 20 with a 34! Along with our normal sampling activities, we performed a test run at collecting fish and plant samples in the West Liberty Park. Special thanks to Paul Gaston and Noah Ganson for taking the lead on the fish and plant sampling. It was a big success and we hope to incorporate broader samplings in the future. If anyone is interested in volunteering for the stream monitoring team, please reach out so we can get you on the list. Hope to see everyone again next year!

US-36  . . . . . . . . .  . . . .  (20) Good
OH-29/Kings Creek. . . .  (18) Good
Watson’s Property  . . . . Not sampled
Mac-o-Chee . . . . . . . . .  (14) Good
Pimtown Rd  . . . . . . . . .  (19) Good
West Liberty Park  . .  . .  (34) Excellent

(The above numbers are values for a Pollution Tolerance Index rating. The higher the number, the higher the quality.)

August Monitoring Results
by Tyler Wright, Monitoring Director, TU Mad River Chapter

For those unfamiliar with our efforts, each year the Mad River Chapter conducts four monitoring events to provide a snapshot of the river’s water quality. These outings are important for understanding the health of the Mad River ecosystem.

During each event, our team samples for macroinvertebrates, the small organisms living in the river that trout eat. These macroinvertebrates are essential indicators of water quality because different species have varying levels of tolerance to pollution. By identifying which macroinvertebrates are present, we can estimate the river’s overall health.

The data collected from these monitoring activities help us track changes in water quality over time and guides our conservation efforts. We encourage chapter members and the community as a whole to join us in these educational outings to learn more about the Mad River.  

Our findings from June event shown below. We only had three volunteers and were not able to monitor all sites. 

US-36  ……………….. (32) Excellent
OH-29/Kings Creek … (26) Excellent
Watson Property …….. NA
Pimtown ………………… (20) Good
Mac-O-Chee ………….. NA
West Liberty …………… (26) Excellent

(The above numbers are values for a Pollution Tolerance Index rating. The higher the number, the higher the quality.)

 June Monitoring Results
by Tyler Wright, Monitoring Director, TU Mad River Chapter

Special thanks to all those that came and participated in our stream sampling on August 10th.  As a reminder, we are looking for individuals who are interested in joining the monitoring team for 2025. As part of the team you will be asked to attend most if not all of the monitoring dates, and assist in the data collection. If you have any questions please let me know!  

The results of the sampling are in the table below. Two of the sites registered good water quality while the other sites came in at excellent quality. It seems the river is maintaining a diverse ecosystem of invertebrates even with the long hot days of summer. As a note on quantity, samplers noted a down tick in numbers of each invertebrate found.

US-36  . . . . . . . . .  . . . . (25) Excellent
OH-29/Kings Creek. . . . (23) Excellent
Watson’s Property  . . . . (23) Excellent
Mac-o-Chee . . . . . . . . . (20) Good
Pimtown Rd  . . . . . . . . . (25) Excellent
West Liberty Park  . .  . . (22) Good

Chapter Launches 2024 Monitoring Program
by Tyler Wright, Monitoring Director, TU Mad River Chapter

April 20th marked the commencement of the Mad River Chapter’s 2024 monitoring program. For those unfamiliar with our efforts, each year the Mad River Chapter conducts four monitoring events to provide a snapshot of the river’s water quality. These outings are important for understanding the health of the Mad River ecosystem.

During each event, our team samples for macroinvertebrates, the small organisms living in the river that trout eat. These macroinvertebrates are essential indicators of water quality because different species have varying levels of tolerance to pollution. By identifying which macroinvertebrates are present, we can estimate the river’s overall health.

The data collected from these monitoring activities help us track changes in water quality over time and guide our conservation efforts. We encourage chapter members and the community as a whole to join us in these educational outings to learn more about the Mad River.

Our findings from April are shown below.

US-36  ……………….. 29
OH-29/Kings Creek … 31
Watson Property …….. 18
Pimtown ………………… 15
Mac-O-Chee ………….. 16
West Liberty …………… 22

(The above numbers are values for a Pollution Tolerance Index rating. The higher the number, the better. Though the particular scale we use gives an “Excellent” rating for any value that is 23 or above, we believe this scale is probably low.)

Overall, scores were lower this monitoring session than sessions in the past. This could be due to the larger rain events that preceded the monitoring. The OH-29/Kings Creek and US-36 locations still showed a good collection of different macroinvertebrates, with mayflies and caddis showing up in good numbers at both.

Upcoming monitoring events are scheduled for June 15, August 10 and October 19. Please plan to join us!! Together, we can ensure the health and sustainability of the Mad River for future generations.