The Sierra Club Illinois Chapter is holding a Water Sentinel workshop on Sunday, September 8th, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., at the Western Illinois University (WIU) Quad Cities campus Room Scheduling 3300 on River Drive in Moline, IL. The workshop is open to all, regardless of experience, and participation is free.
Dr. Mila Marshall has been the Clean Water Advocate for the Sierra Club Illinois Chapter since 2021. She says 18 individuals have already signed up for the weekend workshop. Registration is still open, as the WIU space can accommodate 40 people.
Marshall says the Clean Water Team aims to ensure clean water for all Illinois residents. The organization works with elected officials and volunteers to reach that goal in engagement and community partnerships. Water Sentinels test the state's creeks, lakes, rivers, and streams; most are volunteers.
"These tests are really important because these are the parameters that are used to determine the quality and the health of surface water, whether those are lakes, streams, or rivers," Marshall said in a phone interview with WVIK on Sept. 3rd. "Many of our volunteers do local water testing because they engage the water and they want their community to understand what's going on with it."
According to Marshall, some volunteers have collected water samples for over twenty years. The weekend workshop hopes to include water testing veterans with beginners to share data and learn ways to improve communication within the Sierra Club Illinois Chapter.
The state's chapter includes 14 groups, including the Moline-based Eagle View. The workshop will provide breakfast and lunch. At lunch, attorney Albert Ettinger will speak about the current condition of Illinois water.
Marshall says water testing can collect data on various metrics. These include air and water temperature, dissolved oxygen tests, pH levels, macro- and microinvertebrate sampling, and nitrates from farm runoff. The tests vary between volunteers depending on the available equipment and access to laboratories.
"But the great part about the collected data is that it can be used to change what is happening on the land, protect water, and protect people. And so, we're really excited to think about what are some things that we can do collectively, which may require new instrumentation," Marshall said. "Folks are asking us, can we test for PFAS? That is currently beyond our capacity to test in the field. I'm not even sure if there are, you know, technologies that the general public could use to test for PFAS. But we are getting questions specifically about that. And then also for bacteria. But again, you need a lab to run those tests."
Marshall says the organization's ability to monitor the state's waterways works because of the volunteers' passion.
"I'm impressed at the pride that Illinoisans have and the willingness to broker and negotiate their time with their community and their church and their families and still give to make sure that these waters are healthy," Marshall said. "I would love for people to consider what opportunities there may be for partnering with programs like Water Sentinels, whether that is for field trips and learning how to do water testing and sampling, continued learning opportunities for educators and, you know, bringing some of the lessons of surface water into your local curriculum, field trips to some of these sites. We would really love for people to not just benefit from the data being collected and the advocacy work, but to see themselves as a part of it moving forward."
Participants are asked to bring a notebook, pen, reusable water bottle, and name tag. Registration for the September 8th workshop closes on Thursday, September 5th.
