PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The Delaware River Basin Commission has introduced an online crowd-sourcing effort to keep an eye on conditions along creeks, streams and rivers in the region.
The project, called Rate Your Waters, encourages people to record their observations at a waterway and upload them to an interactive map.
“Essentially, Rate your Waters is a crowd-sourced website for people who are out and about in the Delaware River Basin,” said Kate Schmidt, executive director of the Delaware River Basin Commission. “Once they’re out, and they’re out taking a walk along a creek or the river or another waterway, they can take a picture and also rate what they see.”
Schmidt said they’re looking for specific information.
“Record what you see,” she advised. “Is the water flowing really fast or slow? How clear is it? Is there erosion? Do you notice a smell? Is there a lot of trash? Then you can go to the website — rateyourwaters.org — and you can enter that information there, upload your picture.”
She said users could help detect conditions that may require the attention of environmental authorities.
“Regulators aren’t where they can be 24/7,” she said. “So having that on-the-ground assistance from the members of our community is important. … If you see something that’s concerning, definitely let the authorities know.”
What the commission gathers from photos and eyewitness accounts will be used to assess the overall health of the region’s waterways.
“This is more just to get people thinking about their water, thinking about their part in the watershed,” Schmidt added. “Even though their favorite place to walk might be Tyler State Park in Bucks County, that is part of a larger Delaware River Basin, so they are part of the watershed that starts in New York and ends in Delaware.”