AWW Staff Bacteria Blitzes

Water monitoring has been a great way for our monitors and staff to get outdoors while maintaining social distancing. In April, May, and June (planning another for July!), the AWW Program Staff set out to conduct multi-site bacteriological monitoring blitzes near their homes in the Auburn area. Each staffer took on multiple sites on several waterbodies in Auburn. Take a look at what we found!

Rachel (RM in orange) took on several sites in north Auburn, Sergio and Carolina ( RC in blue) took on west and south Auburn, while Mona (MD in red) and Sydney (SS in black) sampled central Auburn.
Rachel (RM in orange) took on several sites in north Auburn, Sergio and Carolina ( RC in blue) took on west and south Auburn, while Mona (MD in red) and Sydney (SS in black) sampled central Auburn.
June 2020’s E. coli results were trending down from the previous two months across everyone’s monitoring sites.
Continue reading “AWW Staff Bacteria Blitzes”

How to: Establish a Beach Site in Swim Guide

Its heating up and the summer months are upon us! As Alabamians go out and hit the beaches and rivers this summer for swimming, paddling, and fishing, it is important that water quality data is easily accessible and up-to-date. In addition to the Alabama Water Watch public data tools, an application called Swim Guide is another useful tool for determining if it is safe to swim.

Your data and observations can help let people know if it is safe to swim this summer! Learn how you can get involved by reading below.

Continue reading “How to: Establish a Beach Site in Swim Guide”

Meet Our Water Watchers: Carl Woida!

Carl Woida has been a volunteer monitor with Alabama Water Watch for 19 years. When asked to share about his monitoring experience, he wrote a very thoughtful reflection about his time as a volunteer. We are excited to share his story. Read on to learn more about Carl, his monitoring, lessons learned, and why he enjoys being involved with the AWW Program!


My name is Carl Woida and I have been a Volunteer Monitor with AWW since 2001. I have two monitoring sites on the Paint Rock River, a major tributary of the Tennessee River. My monitoring group’s name is the Scott Branch Water Watch. Scott Branch is a small stream feeding the Paint Rock River. I am 75 years old and to date, since my initial certification in 2001, I have been recertified 10 times and have submitted 276 chemistry reports to AWW.

Continue reading “Meet Our Water Watchers: Carl Woida!”

PAWWesome Co-workers

As the AWW Program Staff settles into the “new normal,” they are also adjusting to working with their new (four-legged) co-workers at home. Since they’ve worked with them about 5 weeks now, we thought we’d ask about their work habits:

It seems they have a slight tendency to sleep on the job…

Sydney’s co-worker, Lila Grace
Carolina’s co-worker, Momo
Carolina’s co-worker, Tiger
Sydney’s co-worker, Jack Baloo
Continue reading “PAWWesome Co-workers”