City of Santa Rosa
Aquatic Macroinvertebrate Bioassessment Program

Since 2004, the SRCD has been collaborating with the City of Santa Rosa Storm Water Team to deliver the Aquatic Macroinvertebrate Bioassessment Program to participating Santa Rosa High Schools.

As an education and outreach component of the City's NPDES permit, the program has been ongoing since 1998 with participation from six Santa Rosa high schools and over 2,000 students. Through the program students learn about watershed science, aquatic ecology, land use, water pollution, aquatic macroinvertebrate biology, and hands on water quality monitoring, as well as their role in storm water pollution. The program emphasizes using a monitoring technique to evaluate the biological and physical condition of streams in relation to land use and sustainability for wildlife habitat.

The students build on a data record that tracks the quantity and composition of aquatic macroinvertebrates, such as mayflies, stoneflies, and caddisflies, which change in response to varying degrees of water pollution and habitat alteration. Sampling for these insects can indicate the overall health of a stream.