SHORELINES

They're simply you-and-me people who based organization that trains water entered, the data is there forever and want to do their part for the lakes they monitors and tracks the data. "The can help us determine if the water is love, and for the generations to come. volunteers are so giving — they're the getting better or worse. It takes two to reason I come to work. When they three years to establish a trend." "Last calendar year, we had about Most of today's volunteers have 341 people around the state testing enter their information (online with water," reports Rita Grub of Alabama an assigned ID number), we have been contributing long enough to Water Watch (AWW), the Auburn- programs that graph the results. Once establish the trends. More are joining their ranks each year, many through their Home Owner/Boat Owner (HOBO) groups, which often supply kits and chemicals. "This shows that we're all working together," says Beaty. "Alabama Power can't do it alone, residents can't do it alone, neither can Alabama Water Watch. It's a good relationship." Angie Anderegg, engineer in Alabama Power's Environmental Affairs, adds, "We very much appreciate the fact that these residents contribute their own time to conduct monthly water testing. Ultimately, we all care about the same thing on our lakes, and that's the health of the water for recreation, residential and energyproducing purposes. "We admire the fact that the volunteers don't just live on these lakes, but want to be part of monitoring and protecting such a valuable resource," she says. "We all benefit when people care." — Carolanne Roberts Left: Photo by Wynter Byrd — Volunteers can learn to conduct both bacteria and chemical testing through the Alabama Water Watch program. 10 S hor el i ne s | 2013 Vol:3

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