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Volunteer Lake Monitoring
Volunteers play an integral role in protecting and improving the health of Snohomish County lakes.
Since 1992, surface water management (SWM) has trained over 250 citizen volunteers to monitor lake water quality in 38 of the county's lakes. Currently 60 volunteers help SWM monitor 28 lakes.
For more information about volunteering, contact us at lakes@snoco.org.
Read about some of our dedicated lake monitoring volunteers in the Everett Daily Herald here.
Since 1992, surface water management (SWM) has trained over 250 citizen volunteers to monitor lake water quality in 38 of the county's lakes. Currently 60 volunteers help SWM monitor 28 lakes.
For more information about volunteering, contact us at lakes@snoco.org.
Read about some of our dedicated lake monitoring volunteers in the Everett Daily Herald here.
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Lake Howard Volunteers
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Lake Bosworth Volunteer
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Lake Ki Volunteers
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Lake Roesiger S. Volunteer
Volunteer Opportunities
SWM staff will provide all necessary training - only a boat and lake access is required. SWM is seeking volunteers to monitor lake water quality in 2023 for the following lakes:
- Armstrong
- Bryant
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- Martha South (off 164th)
- Wagner @(Model.BulletStyle == CivicPlus.Entities.Modules.Layout.Enums.BulletStyle.Decimal ? "ol" : "ul")>
Importance of Monitoring by Volunteers
Volunteers are essential to the success of SWM's lake monitoring program. Their time and efforts provide information that could not be obtained with county resources alone. The information collected by volunteers is used to:
- Determine the current conditions of Snohomish County lakes
- Educate lakeside landowners on how to improve lake health
- Evaluate changes in lake health over time
- Identify problems affecting a specific lake in the early stages
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Requirements
Being a volunteer lake monitor is a fun and rewarding experience. Volunteer activities include measuring water transparency and surface temperature and collecting water samples. Previous experience is not necessary; SWM will provide training and monitoring equipment.
Volunteers must be able to commit to the following:
- Have direct access to lake
- Have access to a boat and anchor
- Participate in a four-hour volunteer training (in April or May)
- Conduct twice a month monitoring May - October (30 minutes)
- Collect monthly water samples June - September (One hour)
Volunteers that have more time may also commit to measuring temperature and oxygen levels and/or taking lake level measurements.
Volunteer Training Videos
The following are links to training videos on Snohomish County's YouTube page.
- How to Set a Water Sampler
- How to Collect a Chlorophyll a Sample
- How to Collect a Nutrient Sample
- How to Collect Duplicate Samples @(Model.BulletStyle == CivicPlus.Entities.Modules.Layout.Enums.BulletStyle.Decimal ? "ol" : "ul")>
Volunteer Resources
Monitoring Resources
- 2023_Volunteer_Monitoring_Calendar
- 2023 Mollusk Assessment
- Snohomish County Lakes Map (PDF)
- Volunteer Data Sheet (PDF)
- Sample Depths by Lake (PDF)
- Lake Level Form (PDF)
- Volunteer Monitoring Procedures (PDF)
- Volunteer Monitoring Manual (PDF)
- 2007-2022 Volunteer Newsletter Archive
- Duplicate Procedures
- Quality Assurance Monitoring Plan
Contact Us
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Marisa Burghdoff
Water Quality Specialist
Ph: 425-388-3204
Jen Oden
Water Quality Specialist
Ph: 425-262-2601
Dominick Leskiw
Water Quality Analyst
Ph: 425-312-0623
email us at lakes@snoco.org