river picture showing drought

Take the Russian River Watershed’s Temperature Day!

We all love our amazing 1,485 square mile watershed, its hundreds of miles of river and creeks sustaining our diverse ways of life.

We also know our watershed may be feeling a little “under the weather”. So, like any concerned caregiver, we’d like to take its temperature.

And we need your help! 

We’d like everyone who can find a way to measure temperature in the waterways, to record what you see.

The Russian River Watershed Association will compile all the information, make a map of all the readings, and post on our website and social media.

This may be the first time a watershed-wide temperature is taken, and we hope it’s not the last.  Our watershed needs us to take care of it, so please help us do just that by joining our team!

How to Participate:

  1. Visit your favorite local waterway within the Russian River watershed. If you need ideas, here are some events happening for Creek Week (September 15-22).
  2. Bring your submersible thermometer ( bulb, minimum-maximum, or thermistor -Thermometers for pools or aquariums work best) to the waterway or cleanup of your choice.
  3. Measure the waterway’s temperature! New to using your thermometer? Here are some tips and tricks on using your bulb, minimum-maximum, or thermistor thermometer.
  4. Collect the following information and enter it here or email it to cleanwater@rrwatershed.org.
    • River/Creek Name
    • Description of location (specific landmarks, signs, crossroads, bridges, parks, trails, etc.)
    • Image of your location (GPS screenshots, selfies, landmark pictures etc.)
    • Estimated distance from measure point to bank of river/creek (in feet)
    • Temperature Measurement (in °F)
    • Date of measurement
    • Time of measurement
    • Instrument used
      • Bulb Thermometer
      • Minimum-Maximum Thermometer
      • Thermistor Thermometer
      • Other
    • Notes/Comments
  5. Share photos of your participation with us on Facebook and Instagram by using #RRTEMP2018
  6. Follow the Russian River Watershed Association on Instagram and Facebook! The Russian River Watershed Association will compile all the information, make a map of all the readings, and post on our website and social media.

That’s it! Thank you for participating.

To our knowledge, this is a never been done before effort for the Russian River watershed. We would love to receive your feedback. If you have any comments or questions about your experience or have ideas on how we can enhance this event in the future, please email us at cleanwater@rrwatershed.org.