World Water Challenge: Test Water in Permanente Creek Friday

Just where does our water come from?

The World Water Monitoring Challenge provides a great opportunity to find out. GreenTown Los Altos and Acterra are sponsoring a local event on Saturday, through which you can learn more about the watershed in which you live, how watersheds work, and what you can do to protect important creek habitat.

This is a great activity for young families, students looking for volunteer hours, and community members who are just plain curious about their local creek. 

Volunteers will help determine the quality of water in Permanente Creek,  with monitoring activities to be done. It's a family friendly event, so that even the youngest volunteers can perform tests with color-changing indicator kits.

Monitoring results will be shared with communities around the world which are holding their own World Water Monitoring Challenge events.

Participants will also have the opportunity to do a bit of biomonitoring by looking at which aquatic bugs live in this part of the creek. Some may indicate the health of the creed. Finding too many pollution-tolerant bugs could indicate a pollution problem.

Volunteers assemble at the Heritage Oaks Park on March 16 at 10 a.m. for the two hour monitoring project. 

Volunteers of all ages are welcome, but minors under 18 require a signed waiver and those under high school age require an accompanying adult unless prior approval is obtained. Preregistration is required via Eventbrite.