References & Other Resources

This is our searchable library of references and other resources of interest to our members and friends. If you know of an online reference or other online resource that we don’t have in our library, please feel free to share it with us here.

Central Indiana Watersheds
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Web log (blog) that promotes and shares information about water quality and work in watersheds in Central Indiana.
IDEM Hoosier Riverwatch
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Hoosier Riverwatch promotes stewardship of Indiana's waterways through a water quality education and volunteer monitoring and water quality education program. Hoosier Riverwatch is a State-sponsored water quality monitoring initiative. The program was started in 1994 to increase public awareness of water quality issues and concerns by training volunteers to monitor stream water quality. Hoosier Riverwatch is sponsored by the Indiana Department of Environmental Management's Office of Water Quality and is located in the Watershed Assessment and Planning Branch.
IDEM Water Monitoring
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Water monitoring programs active at the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM). The links lead to additional information on biological studies, impaired water body assessments, integrated water monitoring, surveys, TMDL program, as well as information on toxicology and chemistry
IDNR Water Resources Updates (updated monthly)
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This link leads to a number of resources and assessments that are updated monthly by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Division of Water for Indiana. Some of the products include climatic conditions, current stream flow conditions, water levels of reservoirs, status of groundwater levels from observation wells, as well as links to resources such as Indiana’s Water Shortage Plan.
Indiana Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts
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The Indiana Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts (IASWCD) and the 92 local SWCDs share a single mission: to coordinate assistance from available sources - public and private, local, state and federal - in an effort to develop locally driven solutions to natural resource concerns.
Indiana Clean Lakes Program
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The Indiana Clean Lakes Program was created in 1989 as a program within the Indiana Department of Environmental Management's (IDEM) Office of Water Management. The program is administered through a grant to Indiana University's School of Public and Environmental Affairs (SPEA) in Bloomington. The Indiana Clean Lakes Program is a comprehensive, statewide public lake management program having five components: (1) public information and education, (2) technical assistance, (3) volunteer lake monitoring, (4) lake water quality assessment, and (5) coordination with other state and federal lake programs.
Indiana Lakes Management Society
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The Indiana Lakes Management Society is based in Angola, Indiana, and was organized to promote and encourage the understanding and comprehensive management of lakes and reservoirs and their watershed ecosystems. Please click a page link above for more information about us, and to learn more about lakes and lake living.
Indiana Water Quality Report (www.scorecard.org)
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Scorecard.org is an online resource for information about pollution problems and toxic chemicals. The site has a community activist aesthetic to it. The site compiles publicly available data on polluters collected by federal regulatory agencies and distributed in digital form. The Web application pulls data from many disparate federal datasets and compiles them for integrated searches by geographic area, pollution topic, or chemical profile. The provided link describes the Clean Water Act (CWA) status for Indiana.
Indiana Watershed Planning Guide
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This manual, developed by the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM), was compiled to assist local groups in developing successful watershed plans, and to establish a common approach for watershed planning throughout Indiana. The manual is intended to provide a road map to watershed groups developing watershed management plans, especially if they are being developed under CWA Section 319 grant funding.
Microplastic Pollution in Indiana’s White River: An Exploratory Study
ABSTRACT. Plastic material is now a ubiquitous source of aquatic pollution. Microplastics, tiny plastic
pieces often not visible to the naked eye, are a growing environmental concern in both marine and freshwater
ecosystems. While many studies have documented the abundance and danger of microplastics in global
oceans, little research is available on microplastic presence and impact in riverine ecosystems. This
exploratory study aims to build on the findings of recent freshwater microplastic studies by reporting on the
occurrence and types of microplastic pollution found in the West Fork White River in central Indiana. Fifteen
surface water samples were collected from three bridge sites along the river over a four-month period (August
- November 2015) and analyzed using established NOAA laboratory methods. Analysis revealed various
microplastic particle types in the White River, with synthetic fibers being the predominant type collected. A
total of 146 plastic pieces were collected across all sites and collection periods, with an average microplastic
concentration of 0.71 items m3. Surprisingly, there were no significant differences in microplastic
concentrations among sites of differing population density. Further, a local wastewater treatment plant
had no effect on particle type or abundance. These findings contribute to current gaps in microplastic research
on freshwater, especially fluvial, environments. This contribution may guide researchers in better
understanding the extent to which these synthetic particles are polluting U.S. surface waters as a whole.
National Resources Defense Council: Testing the Waters – Great Lakes Supplement
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Summary of water quality on Indiana’s Great Lakes beaches compiled by the Natural Resources Defense Council.
USEPA Surf Your Watershed
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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (USEPA) has developed an interactive Web application called “Surf Your Watershed” to link to on-line databases to investigate topics such as stream flow, science in your watershed, water-use data, impaired water bodies, and water-quality monitoring data in the selected watershed.
USGS National Water Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program
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The National Water-Quality Assessment Program (NAWQA) provides an understanding of water-quality conditions; whether conditions are improving or degrading; and how natural and manmade activities affect water quality. Regional and national assessments are possible because of a consistent study design and uniform methods of data collection and analysis. Monitoring data are integrated with geographic information on hydrological characteristics, land use, and other landscape features.
USGS National Water Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program – Publications
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The National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program has produced more than 1,500 reports describing how water quality conditions vary locally, regionally, and nationally; whether conditions are getting better or worse over time; and how natural features and human activities affect these conditions. Conditions also were compared to national water-quality standards, guidelines, and benchmarks to assess the potential effects on drinking water and aquatic life. Most of these reports can be accessed online.
Wikipedia: Clean Water Act
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A discussion of the federal law called the “Clean Water Act” of 1977 from Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia.

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