Stream Monitoring

The Nolichucky river on the north end of Cocke County became threatened by a new facility in 2014, US Nitrogen. CWEET addressed the issue by organizing an effort to stop the proposed pollution and water usage of another invasive corporation. CWEET began our Water Monitoring program and since 2015 CWEET has trained citizen scientists. We have trained over 60 people to make water “chemical grabs” and count insects, and we offer training annually for folks who are interested in learning and participating. A chemical grab and macro invertebrate study is done on both the Nolichucky and Pigeon Rivers twice a year (one in the spring, one in the fall) to monitor the health of the ecosystems. We have one dedicated part time Team Leader who coordinates and oversees this specific water testing and we have partnered with the Environmental Quality Institute as well as the Stream Monitoring Information Exchange for this essential work. 

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CWEET also has now partnered for the past few years with Mountain True to participate in Swim Guide, which tests e-coli in popular swimming areas across the country and makes it available to the public through an app. We test the Pigeon River in Hartford, Tennessee weekly from Memorial Day to Labor Day. 

You can download the app at www.theswimguide.org.   

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