PA DEP Citizens’ Water Quality Monitoring Training

PA DEP training program for volunteer water quality monitors covering chemical, physical, and biological assessment protocols.

PA DEP's Citizens' Volunteer Monitoring Program (CVMP) provides free training and equipment loans to volunteer monitors collecting water quality data on Pennsylvania streams. Training covers chemical sampling, macroinvertebrate identification, habitat assessment, and proper documentation procedures.Volunteers and watershed groups completing CVMP training can submit data to PA DEP's database, which feeds into Clean Water Act assessments. This is the most direct path for citizen monitoring data to influence state regulatory decisions.Training sessions are held regionally throughout the year and are open to interested individuals and watershed groups.