Events such as Snapshot Day provide unique opportunities for citizens to learn about local water quality issues and participate in relevant watershed research.
Snapshot Day is an event designed to provide a "snapshot" of water quality within the Truckee River and Lake Tahoe watersheds. The purpose of this event is to promote environmental education and stewardship through volunteerism, and to collect valuable water quality data. Although agencies and universities maintain extensive monitoring programs, information to assess water quality issues within these watersheds is still lacking.
Volunteer citizen monitoring can supplement these efforts and compile a more complete picture of watershed condition. Volunteer efforts on Snapshot Day help identify and alert agencies to several new "hot-spot" areas with water quality concerns.
Monitored parameters include: pH, dissolved oxygen, turbidity, temperature, Secchi depth, fecal coliform, Nitrogen, Phosphorus and electroconductivity. Habitat assessments provided an overview of physical conditions affecting stream organisms.
Tahoe-Truckee Snapshot Day 2003.
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