State streams need touch from Blue Thumbs

Volunteers will meet on the campus of Oklahoma City University to learn how to conduct simple chemical tests on 90 to 100 wadable streams across Oklahoma.

The Blue Thumb Water Pollution Education program is part of a water quality education initiative at the Oklahoma Conservation Commission. It has about 300 trained volunteers throughout the state.

"We hope with them getting out to their local creeks, they will be interested in protecting them from non-point source pollutants,” program director Kim Shaw said.

She added that pollutants running into the state's lakes and streams from factories can often be immediately traced back to a source. Non-point source pollutants involve everything that cannot immediately be directed back to a source. They are more difficult to detect, though they can be just as damaging to water quality.

In Oklahoma, sediment is the primary source of polluted waters. It can make it difficult for native fish to guard themselves from predators or see food. In addition, sediment tends to fill in large pools on the floor of a creek, which are critical to the survival of larger breeds.

The group hosts six to eight training sessions per year. In addition to chemical testing, state staff also routinely go out with volunteers and take biological samples from the streams, which also determines how the habitat is faring.

Blue Thumb started in Tulsa in the early 1990s. The program soon expanded into a statewide program.

The training is being hosted by Oklahoma City University on Friday and Saturday. Activities are 1 to 7 p.m. Friday and 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturday.

"In the Oklahoma City area, we have a dozen streams being monitored by committed volunteers. We have had requests to hold additional trainings, so this is an opportunity for more folks to get involved,” said Cheryl Cheadle, Blue Thumb coordinator.

With two days of training, volunteers will have the equipment and skills to conduct basic chemical testing on streams in their own communities.

Cheadle said the training is good for professionals, high school students, retirees and just about anyone else interested in the program. Training will cover stream ecology, pollutants, watersheds, water monitoring and field activities.