First Flush alert! I need to get ready to help

I just received an alert from Don McEnhill of Russian Riverkeeper, who leads the effort to monitor the quality of the water of the streams and creeks in the Russian River watershed immediately after the first rains.

A big storm is due in tomorrow, and that means I need to be ready with my rain gear, detailed field instructions on how to gather water samples, and my camcorder (there aren’t any videos on YouTube about First Flush!).

Our efforts to capture what comes off the land in the “first flush” and ends up in the waterways contributes to the implementation of the federal Clean Water Act of 1977.
If it weren’t for volunteers, there would be no way to know what is ending up in our waterways. I’ve done this twice before, and one year our team found unacceptable levels of dioxin and Escherichia coli in a creek that runs through our town.

If I miss a post the next day or two, you’ll know what I’m doing.

(photos: Clean Water Act: Of Time and the River and debris in a waterway: Carnegie Museum)