Partner Spotlight: Otsego County Conservation Association

Otsego County Conservation Association Continues Water Quality Monitoring in Chesapeake Bay Headwaters

The Otsego County Conservation Association (OCCA) launched its Citizen Science Water Quality Monitoring Program in 2018 with the technical assistance of Dickinson College’s Alliance for Aquatic Resource Monitoring (ALLARM). As the first county-wide stream monitoring initiative conducted by community scientists in Otsego County, OCCA plays a crucial role in addressing data gaps within the Upper Chesapeake Bay Watershed and monitoring the health of the Susquehanna River’s headwaters.

Community scientists collect monthly measurements of water temperature, conductivity, water clarity, dissolved oxygen, pH, nitrate, and orthophosphate at nine monitoring sites. OCCA has successfully accumulated two years’ worth of data in the Chesapeake Data Explorer, and we eagerly anticipate its further integration.

As the program progresses, the partnership with ALLARM brings excitement about OCCA’s contribution to observing and documenting the stream health in the headwaters of the Chesapeake Bay.