Goal

Establish a Water Quality Coordinator position for the Chehalis Watershed

Scope of Work

Responsibilities of the Water Quality Coordinator:

1) Work with the Water Quality Committee to develop priorities and an annual work-plan for monitoring activity in the Chehalis Basin

2) Identify and coordinate ongoing water quality monitoring activities among entities in the Chehalis Basin

3) Assist in the design and implementation of new water quality monitoring and mitigation programs in the Chehalis Basin

4) Assist in the interpretation and communication of water quality monitoring data among stakeholder groups

5) Work with the GIS coordinator at Grays Harbor College (GHC) to organize and archive water quality data

Implementation Option

Establish a joint faculty position at GHC to facilitate water quality monitoring in the Chehalis Basin

The Water Quality Coordinator position would be a 50% administrative, 50% teaching appointment within the Natural Resources Program at GHC.  Program coordinator responsibilities would be split between teaching a sequence of water quality monitoring/assessment classes throughout the academic year (described below) and coordinating water quality monitoring and assessment in activities the Chehalis Basin (as described above).  This position would be jointly-funded between GHC and a partner to be named (possibly the Chehalis Basin Partnership) and will complement the GIS Clearinghouse Coordinator Position currently being implemented at GHC.

Teaching responsibilities:

1) Develop and implement of a series of four to six Water Quality courses; courses will fulfill the requirements for both a 1-year certification and a 2-year Natural Resource Technology degree.  Potential courses may include, but are not limited to: Aquatic Entomology, Water Quality Assessment, Stream Ecology and Restoration, Plant Ecology, Ecosystem Assessment

2) Coordinate student directed-research projects that emphasis real-world implementation of water quality monitoring technologies

3) Participate in collaborative teaching and research projects with natural resources students and faculty

4) Participate in high school outreach programming and as a member of regional natural resources/planning committees

5) Participate in collaborative grant applications