From September 18 to October 18, people around the globe will join together to monitor the quality of their local watersheds and enter the results of their efforts into an international database. A major goal of this effort, which culminates on "World Water Monitoring Day," is to create an awareness of how important it is to protect our waterways, a resource on which our lives depend.

As part of this month-long project, local high school teachers and students with an interest in science and ecology are invited to learn from and interact with staff from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP), and the United States Geological Survey (USGS). These agencies demonstrate water quality monitoring activities using chemical, biological, and flow techniques at various locations in New Jersey.

Students will have the opportunity to conduct their own simple water quality tests so they can later enter the collected data on the World Water Monitoring Day website. Informational display tables will be on site and leaders from the various local agencies will be on hand to outline their monitoring programs and to answer questions.