City of Rockville Save Our Streams (SOS) Program

What is it?
Stream monitoring is how Rockville creates the report card on the condition of its three watersheds – Cabin John, Rock Creek and Watts Branch. Volunteers, working under the direction of the City's Environmental Division, determine the "grades" by monitoring designated areas of a stream for aquatic insects, chemical contaminants and physical appearance.

Why get involved?
Rockville Save Our Streams (SOS) volunteers are the first line of defense for City watersheds. By volunteering you will meet people who share your interest in protecting the environment.

You will help Rockville by providing information to safeguard and improve the environmental habitat. Volunteers help expand the City’s capacity to study and protect Rockville's environment.

What do I have to do?
To get involved, you must attend classes in stream monitoring. You will need to commit to monitoring a stream site twice a year – once in March or April and again in October. The City will provide collecting nets, field tables, collecting pans and microscopes. You provide your time and proper footwear for wading into streams.

Stream Report Card
The City of Rockville's State of Our Streams report outlines the health of the local streams as assessed by volunteers participating in the Save Our Streams (SOS) program. This report will be updated annually and is based on water quality sampling, benthic macroinvertebrate (small organisms) inventory and habitat assessment. SOS volunteers collect this data in the spring and fall. Read a summary or view the full State of Our Streams report.

Training Sessions
Save Our Streams Monitoring Trainings

Sunday, April 21 2013  1:30 PM to 5 PM

Trainings are free, but pre-registration is required. To sign up, please fill out the online registration form. For questions please contact the SOS Coordinator or call 240-314-8877. All training sessions will be held at Croydon Creek Nature Center, 852 Avery Road.     

Training Session Slides

• Habitat assessment (1.8MB)
• Aquatic insect identification (2.3MB)
• Water chemistry
• Invasive plant identification (1.2 MB)

How do I sign up?
If you wish to sign up or have any questions about the Rockville SOS Program, call 240-314-8877 or e-mail the SOS Coordinator.

Resources

• Rockville SOS Procedures Manual – this document provides a detailed overview of the program including background and sampling guidelines.

Additional field resources – volunteers will be provided with basic field guides. For more information, visit the following Web sites:

• EPA Volunteer Monitor (Newsletter)

Macroinvertebrate ID Resources:

• Cacapon Insititute Watershed School - A great virtual learning experience.  Click on the macroinvertebrate poster inside any of the "classrooms."
• MD DNR stream macroinvertebrates field ID card
• Family-Level Key to Stream Invertebrates of Maryland and Surrounding Areas 1999 (1.6 MB)
• Stream Study Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Virginia
• Volunteer Stream Monitoring Interactive Verification Program, University of Minnesota
• West Virginia (W.Va.) Save Our Stream (SOS) program  – the Rockville program is based on the W.Va. SOS program. This program has an in-depth Web site with detailed information about water quality monitoring and habitat assessment.

Stream Monitoring Safety

• Protect yourself from ticks
• Plant safety