Spring Voluntary Monitoring

Active

from 01/01/2021 until 30/09/2022

Springs are natural groundwater outflows reflecting watershed conditions regarding pollution and groundwater resources. Since 2004, springs have been part of Latvia's national groundwater monitoring, supporting the EU Water Framework and Groundwater Directives. Springs are often used for drinking water due to their taste and have historical and tourism value, and support groundwater-dependent ecosystems i.e. wetlands.

A major challenge in groundwater management is the lack of monitoring sites, especially in cross-border areas. Springs offer lower sampling and maintenance costs, representing larger catchments and making them ideal for monitoring networks. However, representative springs must be mapped and selected based on in-depth studies.

In Latvia and Estonia, researchers initiated voluntary spring monitoring to map new springs and identify representative ones for expansion of cross-border groundwater monitoring network. A web-based application (avoti.info and allikad.info) was launched in 2021 to collect information of known and new springs, offering guidelines for voluntary participation.

Mapping new springs and conducting seasonal monitoring contribute to future groundwater studies and national assessments required for implementing EU water directives and international agreements like Water Convention. An informed society can drive more groundwater-related actions at local, national, and international levels, resulting in new research, improved monitoring, and more sustainable water policies.

Recognised as a European good practice within Interreg Europe RIWET project: https://www.interregeurope.eu/good-practices/spring-monitoring-by-citizens-to-improve-groundwater-resources-management


Aim

The purpose of mapping the spring locations and assessing water quality is to help scientists and national authorities institutions to collect new information. The data obtained this way helps to manage and protect springs, local groundwater resources and dependent ecosystems.

Participation & Audience

Target group: The Spring Voluntary Monitoring activity is open to the general public and is not limited to any specific target group. Participation is voluntary and inclusive, allowing engagement from a wide range of stakeholders. The activity is most commonly implemented by scientists and environmentally engaged citizens who are motivated to identify new springs and contribute to improving knowledge about their spatial distribution. The initiative has also been actively used by schools and kindergartens as an educational tool to raise awareness of water resources and to support the collection of continuous data on locally important springs. In addition, the activity is popular among tourists and recreational users, particularly hikers, who contribute observations while exploring natural areas and integrating spring mapping into their hiking routes. Finally, the results of the activity are aimed at supporting local and national water management authorities. The initiative was initially designed to help identify new monitoring sites and to contribute to transboundary groundwater monitoring, providing valuable data for water resource planning and management.

Number of participants: 380

Duration of involvement: From one time to continuous engagement since 2021

How to participate

People can get involved in the project by joining as volunteer spring monitors. Volunteers use the web-based platform to find, describe, observe, and measure springs, including uploading photos and other information about each spring. Participants can add new springs or update existing data, following the guidance in the provided manual, and submit their observations through the online application. Submitted data are then validated and can be confirmed by other users or administrators before becoming part of the shared dataset, helping build a reliable, community-generated resource for water managers and scientists.

Instructions in ENG available here: https://avoti.info/instructions

Instruction in LV here: https://avoti.info/instructions

Instructions in EE here: https://allikad.info/instructions

Impact
Community impact: Citizen scientists play a crucial role in community water monitoring, providing data to national networks and improving resolution at lower costs. Engaging volunteers integrates local knowledge, educates communities, and encourages public participation in addressing challenges. Well-designed volunteer data collection can offer valuable insights for water managers and support decision-making. Groundwater is often considered a hidden resource that remains poorly understood and mismanaged despite its global importance. Raising awareness of groundwater protection can be achieved through citizen science activities, supported by well-designed tools like our web application and clear guidelines. Our best practices can be directly applied by adding new spring locations or adapted using our monitoring guidelines and web-based tools to create similar approaches. These elements are suitable for various nature and water studies, data gathering, and citizen science initiatives.
Community impact types: Awareness-raising
Insights and Highlights
Achievements:
Over 380 users have joined the application, contributing to a database of over 3700 springs, including approximately 1500 previously unknown springs. They have made more than 3,200 new observations and added nearly 10,000 images. This valuable data source has been recognized by national water authorities, sceintists and is being used to enhance the transboundary groundwater monitoring network between Estonia and Latvia.
About funding

Funding bodies: European Union

Funding program: Interreg Estonia-Latvia programme; Interreg Europe

About branding
Profile image design by: Jānis Bikše, University of Latvia
Logo design by: Jaanus Terasmaa, Tallinn University
Coordinator
University of Latvia
Academic
Spring Voluntary Monitoring Go to Project
Water type
Groundwater
Keywords
Groundwater Water Governance Water Quality
Science Topics
Water
Tags
Suitable for children Teaching materials available Do-it-yourself
Difficulty Level
Easy
Participation tasks
Data Entry Geolocation Measurement Observation Photography Site selection and/or description
Location
Global National
Contact
E-mail
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Created Feb. 9, 2026, 12:29 p.m.
Updated Feb. 9, 2026, 2:15 p.m.

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