Huron River Watershed Council
In this internship with the Huron River Watershed Council, Elizabeth worked closely with volunteer "citizen scientists" to obtain streamflow measurements, baseline samples, and storm-event samples throughout the Huron River watershed for water quality analysis. She also helped expand the volunteer water quality monitoring program to include portions of Livingston County. This included monitoring site selection and investigation, assisting with revisions to quality assurance project plans submitted to the MDNRE, and volunteer recruitment. Over the course of the summer, Elizabeth gained practical knowledge of Phase II of the Clean Water Act, including National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits and Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) requirements for surface water bodies.
Internship Details
| Organization | Huron River Watershed Council - Ann Arbor, MI |
| Employment Sector |
Non-Governmental Organization/Non-Profit |
| Student's Field of Study |
Aquatic Sciences |
| Topic Areas of Internship |
Citizen Participation, Environmental Regulation/Policy, Water Resources |
| Duration & Dates | 22 weeks, starting 5/3/2010 |
| Skills Gained |
Grassroots Organizing, People Management, and Field-work skills associated with obtaining stream-flow measurements, taking samples for water quality analysis, downloading barometric pressure data from field sensors, and analyzing stream hydrographs |
| Duties Performed |
Field Work/Research, Volunteer Coordination, and Support in all areas related to volunteer monitoring program creation |
| How Student Obtained Internship | A strong interest in a proposed master's project that never came to fruition as a master's project led me to seek opportunities to get involved with the project as an internship |
| Paid or Unpaid? |
Funded by the Marshall Weinberg Fellowship Program |