Illinois Volunteer Lake Monitoring Program Newsletter: Spring 2009

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Volunteer Lake Monitoring Program
1021 North Grand Avenue East
P.O. Box 19276
Springfield, IL 62794-9276
Illinois Environmental Spring 2009
Protection Agency
ILLINOIS
NEWSLETTER
VLMP Online Data Entry
Inside this issue:
Pharmaceuticals in Lakes 1
VLMP Online Data Entry 1
Notes From the Coordinator 2
VLMP Webpage Updated 2
Focus on Exotics: New Zealand
Mud Snail
3
Volunteer Milestones 4
2009 ILMA Conference 5
Lake Guardian 5
Lake Grants 5
Frank Loftus Award Winner 6
ILMA/IEPA Scholarship Winners 6
Available Lake Notes Fact Sheets 7
2010 ILMA Conference 7
VLMP and Lake Technical
Support Contact Information
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For years, we
have all
been prac-ticing
what
we thought
was an appro-priate
method of disposal
for our unwanted medica-tion:
flushing old pills
down the toilet. What
seemed like a harmless
practice has turned into a
hot button environmental
issue. As we know, what
gets thrown down our
drains ends up in our wa-ter
systems; this includes
pharmaceuticals and per-sonal
care products, or
PPCP’s for short.
This emerging environ-mental
concern has
prompted regulatory agen-cies
to start monitoring
the situation. All across
the country, water tests
have revealed traces of
pain killers, estrogen, anti-depressants
and other
pharmaceutical chemical
derivatives in water sup-plies.
These studies have
linked hormone exposure
from these PPCP’s to re-productive
abnormalities
in fish and may also be
linked to the development
of drug-resistant germs.
Although long-term ef-fects
of PPCP’s are not
fully understood, the Illi-nois
Department of Public
Health and U.S. EPA do
not believe the trace
amounts found in finished
drinking water will endan-ger
public health.
This information is not
meant to be a source of
panic or worry, but to alert
and empower you with the
right information to help
you properly dispose of
your (and your pets’) un-wanted
medication and to
help keep drugs out of our
lakes.
Cont’d on page 2.
Help Keep Drugs Out of Our Lakes
The VLMP online data entry and re-trieval
system is nearing completion and
will be ready in time for you to use this
monitoring season. From this site, volun-teers
and the general public will be able
to access valuable lake data in the form of
graphs, charts, spreadsheets or reports.
In order for you to access the most up-to-date
information, data must first be en-tered.
This is where you, the volunteer,
come in.
The VLMP is requiring that ALL volun-teers
with access to the internet enter
their own monitoring data (from the Sec-chi
monitoring form) using the online
data entry system. In order to maintain
quality control, we are requesting (at least
for now until the process becomes more
efficient) that in addition to entering your
data online, you should also continue to
submit your Secchi monitoring form to
your local coordinator as you have done
in the past. This will allow a system of
checks on the entered data.
At first it may take a little practice, but
the more you use the online database, the
easier it will be for you to not only navi-gate
the website, but to also make better
use of your data. Remember, you are the
collectors and users of your own data.
This website will also help streamline the
lag time between data collection and data
use.
More information about the website will
be explained to you during training and
in the upcoming weeks.