Water Action Volunteers

Active

The Water Action Volunteers (WAV) program aims to preserve, protect, and restore Wisconsin’s 86,000+ miles of streams and rivers by educating and empowering volunteers to (1) gather high-quality stream data useful for decision-making and natural resource management, and (2) share their data and knowledge.

Aim

We empower Wisconsin residents to take ownership of their local waterways through protection and improvement efforts based on hands-on learning, data collection and data reporting. Engaged volunteers and the data they collect benefit natural resource agencies and organizations, local communities, and the entire state of Wisconsin.


Participation & Audience
How to participate

WAV believes anyone can become a stream monitor! Our yearly trainings across Wisconsin focus on teaching volunteers how to gather high-quality stream data and building upon volunteer skills as they progress in their monitoring journey. No experience is necessary.

Annually, more than 500 volunteers and an estimated 2,000 supervised students monitor 600+ stream locations throughout the state.

Check out our WAV Volunteer Spotlights to learn more about our volunteers!

Coordinator
University of Wisconsin-Madis…
Academic
Water Action Volunteers Go to Project
Water type
Surface water
Keywords
Volunteering Rivers Streams
Science Topics
Water
Location
Sub-national
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Created Feb. 10, 2026, 5:18 p.m.
Updated Feb. 10, 2026, 5:18 p.m.

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