Funding

CSI gratefully acknowledges current and past sources of financial support for our Tompkins County-Wide Water Quality Monitoring Initiative in which local governments and other stakeholders are asked to contribute in proportion to their tax base and population.

In addition to support from local governments, CSI receives financial support from local foundations, businesses and individuals. Without this support, we would be unable to continue our volunteer monitoring programs. Below is an outline of the costs associated with our volunteer partnerships.

If you can make a donation to help continue our volunteer programs, please visit the Donations page.

Costs of Volunteer Partnerships:

Synoptic Sampling Partnership:

Initial cost: Initial training consists of three workshops @$500 for a total of $1,500 plus travel.

Workshop 1: Introduction to watershed science and land use impacts; how to conduct a visual survey; maps; and criteria for selecting sampling locations

Workshop 2: Bottles, tracking sheets and chain of custody; collection and preservation of stream samples; field measurements of water quality indicators; and measurement of flows and calculation of loads

Workshop 3: Selection of sampling locations;  group organizes itself into sampling teams; review, questions, practice

Annual cost: Depends on the frequency of sampling, the number of locations sampled by the group, and the number of certified lab analyses performed on each sample. A basic set of 13 analyses for the most common pollutants, i.e., bacteria, sediment, phosphorus and nitrogen nutrients, and salt and other mineral indicators,  is $344 per sample This includes the certified tests as well as CSI staff time to provide technical and organizational support, enter the data in CSI’s online archive, maintain our website and prepare reports for funders. For example, if a group monitors ten stream locations five times a year, the cost is $344/sample x 10 samples/monitoring event x 5 monitoring events/year = $17,200/year. CSI receives funding from local governments, foundations and individuals. If you would like to support one of our Volunteer Partnerships please visit our Donations page to make a tax-deductible contribution.

“Red Flag” Monitoring Partnership:

Initial cost: The initial training cost is $1,500 plus travel and consists of the same three workshops as a synoptic sampling partnership (see above). In addition, each team needs to purchase their own set of test kits and meters at a cost of $200 per set.

Annual cost: The cost of CSI staff time for technical support is estimated at $2,400 per group of 25-30 volunteers. This includes providing each team with calibration standards for use in the field, reviewing field data sheets, performing certified analyses of split samples, maintaining the online data archive, evaluating evidence of gas well impacts, and troubleshooting and refresher training for volunteers, as needed.

The annual cost of comprehensive certified baseline testing depends on the number of locations and the frequency of comprehensive testing. The cost is estimated at $300 per location. If comprehensive testing is done at ten locations in one year, the cost is about $3,000.

You can help support our volunteer partnerships with a one-time donation or by becoming a member. Visit our Donations page to make a contribution.