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Sound Rivers staff hosted a Zoom gathering for Water Watchers this week, a quarterly event for volunteers keeping an eye on waterways throughout the Neuse and Tar-Pamlico watersheds.

Wednesday evening, Neuse Riverkeeper Samantha Krop, Pamlico-Tar Riverkeeper Katey Zimmerman, Water Quality Specialist Taylor Register and Volunteer Coordinator Emily Fritz met up with volunteers via Zoom to get to know one another, share their Watch Watch experiences and ask questions.

“It was fun, as always,” Emily said. We love being able to check in, and it’s fun to catch up and see what’s going on throughout the watersheds.”

Riverkeepers are also able to share what they’re working on and hear what Water Watchers are seeing in the field.

“A Raleigh volunteer has two sites near each other, and reported one of them has been running really high, that’s a red flag,” Emily said. “They tried to follow the creek to find the source, but couldn’t find it, so Samantha is going to follow up and have a look during her next flyover.”

Most of the issues Water Watchers have reported to Sound Rivers are on smaller waterways.

“That led one person, whose site in on a bigger stretch of the Tar and who hasn’t seen any issues, to question whether he should move sites, but as another Water Watcher commented: ‘All sites are worthwhile sites!,’” Emily said. “They’re all trained to see pollution red flags, so if our Water Watchers are not seeing them, then that’s a good thing.”

Sound Rivers next Water Watch trainings are slated for Feb. 17 in Goldsboro and Feb. 18 in Tarboro. For more information about the program, visit the Water Watch page. To sign up for a training, visit the Water Water trainings page.

Like how the Water Watch program and its volunteers are getting more eyes on more of the Neuse and Tar-Pamlico? We love it! Donate today to support Water Watch!