The Dip-In Goes International in Its 5th Year!
The year, 1998, will be the fifth year of the Secchi Dip-In. The project, sponsored by the US EPA's Clean Lakes Program and the North American Lake Management Society has grown because of support of the volunteer monitors such as you. The Dip-In is unique in that it keeps no volunteer mailing list of its own; its success depends entirely on the cooperation and enthusiasm of volunteer monitoring programs and their volunteers. All volunteers that use a Secchi disk are welcome to participate. This includes the many volunteers on streams, rivers, and estuaries, as well as lakes and reservoirs.
This year Canada becomes a full participant in the Dip-In. This is a major milestone because it acknowledges that the value of volunteer monitoring transcends national borders. As in the past, participants from other countries can also participate via our Website.
The number of participating programs increased dramatically from 76 programs in 1996 to 98 in 1997 (Table 1). We like to think this means the Dip-In is gaining the attention of volunteer programs and that they can see the value of the Dip-In for the Nation and for their own programs.
Unfortunately the total number of participants was down slightly in 1998. We don't know the reason for this, but we found out that 50% of the Dip-In participants in 1997 had not participated in the past, suggesting that there is considerable volunteer turnover.
It may be that the excitement may wear off after one or two years of participation. We can only encourage you to think of the Dip-In as a long term effort. In the areas of the country where volunteer monitoring is alive and well, continued participation gives us a chance to look for trends over time. In other parts of the country we are trying to encourage local groups to begin monitoring. As we have often said, the transparency data are important to us, but it is also important that we bring national and international attention to volunteer monitoring.
The Dip-In data are not just being stored away for future reference. The database is a working repository of transparency information, all gathered by volunteers. Here is a short list of what we have done with the data so far.
Mapping the data: An original goal of the Dip-In was to map
transparency. We tried various mapping techniques, each of which was found to
have advantages and disadvantages. For example, when we used colored dots, we
found that dots could cover up others, thus masking the variety of transparency
in an area. We are now developing a new technique that produces a colored area
around each individual lake. The result looks like a patchwork quilt of color,
but every lake is represented. 
Data Inquiries: We provide Secchi data, not participants names, on request to programs, agencies, and individuals We also refer inquiries about becoming a Dip-In volunteer to programs in the local area. This is part of our mission--to help local programs grow.
New Programs: Although we don't start new programs ourselves, we do work with groups that want to get into volunteer monitoring. In 1997, Libby McCann, Wisconsin's Adopt-A-Lake coordinator, wrote a newsletter about Secchi disks and the Dip-In which we mailed to her Adopt-A-Lake members, together with the 1997 questionnaire. Adopt-A-Lake's mission is not monitoring, but the Dip-In participants can join Wisconsin's Self-Help program.
We continue to unravel what volunteers mean by "water quality." As in the past, we found that volunteers considered boating, and especially personal watercraft, to be a water quality problem rivaling algae and rooted vegetation ("weeds"). It appears that water quality is very much tied to the ability to enjoy the resource, and impediments to that enjoyment are not only algae and weeds.
In 1997 we asked whether each problem was becoming better or worse. We
summarized the answers for each state and then calculated the median (50%)
response of all the states. The values represent what the "average" state's
volunteers think about the change in water quality. For example, 10% of the
volunteers in the median state thought that algal problems were getting better,
while 25% thought they were getting worse. The surprising fact was that
no volunteers in the median state thought that boat congestion or
personal watercraft were becoming less of a problem. The problems volunteers
consider important may be to related to conflicts in use.
Volunteers nationwide are very concerned about the future of their waterbodies and the environment in (Fig 3). It is heartening to see that you are thinking in the long term about the quality of that environment for your grandchildren.
It is also encouraging is that 58% of the volunteers know that their data are useful (Fig. 4).
The World Wide Web is a valuable medium for immediate, inexpensive communication. Communication about the Dip-In continues to grow at our Website at http://dipin.kent.edu/
Last year we put the questionnaire on the site, and more than 150 volunteers from around the world entered their Dip-In information using the Web questionnaire.
We will be putting the 1998 questionnaire on the site so that you can enter your data directly to the database. If you have Web access, we would encourage you to use the site. It is easy to use and saves us the time and expense of entering the data by hand.
Look for more to come on the Web when we add information on sources for Secchi disks, on other methods to measure transparency, and on methods for estimating trophic state.
Become involved in an international monitoring effort. You will be participating with other volunteers in an international monitoring effort. We have already been notified that volunteers in Finland will be participating in the Great Nordic Dip-In.
Advertise your own monitoring efforts and educate the Public about our water resources and the importance of volunteer monitoring. Several volunteers and program coordinators have advertised their program in the newspaper or on TV in conjunction with the Dip-In. We encourage you to have an "event" on your water body during the Dip-In. If the Dip-In gets the attention of the news services in your area, why not tell everyone about your monitoring efforts?
You can help us put together a picture of transparency in volunteer-monitored lakes across North America and the world, and we can help you communicate and educate the Public in your area.
The North American Lake Management Society (NALMS) is dedicated to the protection and restoration of lakes. They have available a number of publications, including manuals on how to monitor and restore lakes. For more information, contact them at 608-233-2836 or view their homepage on the Internet at
http://www.nalms.org./Many states have local NALMS chapters which have newsletters and annual meetings where you can ask questions of the experts. Contact NALMS for the address of your state's chapter or find them at the NALMS Website.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Water encourages all citizens to learn about their water resources. It supports volunteer monitoring as a way to build awareness of water issues, train citizens in pollution prevention, provide data for otherwise unassessed waters, and increase the amount of water quality information available to decision makers at all levels of government.
The EPA supports volunteer monitoring through national and regional conferences, a national newsletter for volunteer monitors, a directory of volunteer monitoring programs, guidance on volunteer monitoring methods and quality assurance issues, technical assistance, and special events such as the Great American Secchi Dip-In. Please visit the EPA's homepage at: www.epa.gov/OWOW/monitoring.
The EPA also provides support to address lake water quality issues including continuing to manage existing section 314 Clean Lakes Program projects, encouraging the use of the section 319 Nonpoint Source Program for lake projects, and supporting a variety of lake projects, such as the Dip-In. For more information on EPA's lakes activities, visit EPA's Clean Lakes homepage at: www.epa.gov/OWOW/lakes/lakes.html.
One of the most exciting sites on the Web is the Surf Your Watershed site, sponsored by the U.S. EPA (www.epa.gov/OWOW/surf). Use it to obtain and share important information about water quality and partnerships in your own watershed.
The Great American Secchi Dip-In staff would also like your feedback. If you have questions or comments, please write, FAX (330-672-3713), or telephone (330-672-3849). We would enjoy hearing from you. We would like to know about your own experiences with the Dip-In. If you used the Dip-In as a part of an event, please let us know about it.
For more information on the Great American Secchi Dip-In, contact Bob Carlson at: DipIn@kent.edu or write
Great American Secchi Dip-InUpdated: June 19, 2006