H-GAC Texas Stream Team

What Is Texas Stream Team?

Texas Stream Team is a network of trained volunteers and supportive partners working together to collect information about the natural resources of Texas and to ensure the information is available to all Texans. Volunteers are trained to collect quality-assured information that can be used to make environmentally sound decisions. Established in 1991 as Texas Watch, Texas Stream Team is administered through a cooperative partnership between Texas State University, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Currently more than 400 Texas Stream Team volunteers collect water quality data on lakes, rivers, and streams with programs across the state.

Volunteers complete three phases of training using a test kit that measures physical and chemical parameters in water. If you are interested in the H-GAC Texas Stream Team program to become a certified Water Quality Monitor in the H-GAC Region, please contact us at stream.team@h-gac.com.

Send us an email at stream.team@h-gac.com to receive our newsletter.

Upcoming H-GAC Texas Stream Team Certified Water Monitoring Trainings

Phase I and II Training

H-GAC is planning three Texas Stream Team Phase I and II volunteer water quality monitor trainings across the region in 2019.

The first training will be from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday, February 15, 2019, at Buffalo Bayou Partnership, 1019 Commerce St., Houston. Registration is open and limited to 10 volunteers. Please share this information with friends and colleagues who might have an interest in becoming a volunteer water quality monitor, especially in the eastern part of Houston and Harris County.

Currently more than 400 Texas Stream Team volunteers, including about 100 in the Houston-Galveston region, collect important water quality data on lakes, rivers, and streams as part of this statewide program.

Learn more about getting involved in Texas Stream Team and sign up for the trainings (space will be limited to 10 volunteers per training) online or by contacting stream.team@h-gac.com.

Certification

Participants in H-GAC Texas Stream Team are certified at various levels depending on their environmental monitoring activities. Participants must complete a monitoring plan before training begins to specify their environmental goals and concerns. H-GAC Texas Stream Team staff offer guidance in this process and provide the appropriate training so volunteers can effectively monitor the environment to achieve their goals.

Volunteers complete three phases of training using a test kit that measures physical and chemical parameters in water. Volunteers are asked to monitor their site(s) monthly at the same time of day each month, for a two year commitment. Monitoring takes approximately one to two hours per month per site.

Please email stream.team@h-gac.com if you would like to schedule a training in your area.

Training Phase I

Hands-on training in a classroom setting. Explains how to handle the monitoring equipment and demonstrates the tests. Volunteers then perform the tests under the close supervision of the trainer. Adherence to safety procedures is emphasized. Approximately 3 hours.

Training Phase II

Provides volunteers the opportunity to conduct the monitoring procedures in the field. Safety considerations in monitoring and site selection are emphasized. Volunteers conduct the tests with limited supervision and assistance of the trainer. Trainer carefully observes volunteers' procedures, answers questions, and corrects errors in procedure and safety. Approximately 3 hours.

(Phase I and II Training are usually completed in the same day, with morning and afternoon sessions.)

Training Phase III

Conducted as a one-on-one session with a trainer and each volunteer at their assigned monitoring site. Volunteer conducts all tests under limited supervision from the trainer. If satisfactory, the trainer signs off and training is complete. Volunteer becomes an H-GAC Texas Stream Team Certified Water Quality Monitor. Approximately 3 hours.

QAPP Reviews

Volunteers are asked to attend one annual quality control session after monitoring begins. The TST protocols were developed under a TCEQ-approved Quality Assurance Project Plan. The QAPP ensures volunteers collection highest quality information to augment professionally-collected data in the region.

Stream Team Resources

The following links are resources for current H-GAC Texas Stream Team volunteers:

Tidal Water Quality Monitoring Form

Instructions for Tidal Water Form

Fresh Water Quality Monitoring Form

Instructions for Fresh Water Form

Cheat Sheet 

Texas Stream Team Water Quality Manual 2012

Hydrometer Instructions and Charts (LaMotte)

Texas Stream Team Procedure Review Videos (YouTube)

H-GAC Texas Stream Team Data - Electronic Submission

Volunteers can now submit their data sheets to the H-GAC Texas Stream Team Coordinator electronically.

In the datasheet, please complete data in yellow boxes, save the file to your computer with a file name designating your "Site ID" and "Date of Sample" (for example: Site17331_Dec31_2004), and e-mail file as an attachment to: stream.team@h-gac.com

Please make sure your e-mail includes a statement with your "Site ID" and "Date of Sample." Your e-mail will be used to "authenticate" the submission is your true data.

H-GAC Texas Stream Team Station Locations

The Water Resources Information Map contains current and historical monitoring data and other information for about 450 sites monitored by volunteers and professional monitors.