Boone County Stormwater Management
 

Get Involved

Volunteer Opportunities

four images of children doing waterway cleanup and other stormwater activities

Throughout the year, Boone County Stormwater has opportunities for community members to engage in watershed stewardship.

Sign up for the Boone County Stormwater Contact list to receive emails about upcoming events.

Storm Drain Markers

No Dumping stormwater marker sign

Water passing through storm drains directly affects our waterways, making it crucial that people understand how the storm drainage system functions and making sure that only rain goes down the storm drain.

By marking your local storm drains, you share the knowledge of stormwater pollution and help keep our water clean for all! Order a storm drain marker to get started.

Adopt-A-Road

The purpose of the Adopt-A-Road program is to promote citizen involvement and participation in improving our environment and preserving the natural beauty of Boone County Roadways.

Community Science

Community science is the practice of public participation and collaboration in scientific research to increase scientific knowledge. People share and contribute to data monitoring and collection programs through community science. Research groups, government agencies, and universities coordinate these programs and train these weekend scientists. Volunteers can explore the world around them while providing crucial information that dramatically advances the scope and knowledge of scientists. Community science isn't new. Professional and weekend scientists like farmers have collected weather data for centuries. Today, organized citizens science programs like Missouri Stream Teams, iNaturalist, and Lakes of Missouri Volunteer Program flourish. Scientists are increasingly relying on individuals and community groups to be their "eyes and ears" to study populations, water quality, and habitats. Scientists need data, and many residents want to contribute to the conservation and understanding of the environment. Community science is essential to understanding the health of our local waterways. Observing how stormwater and land use throughout the different watersheds impacts the water quality and quantity of streams. YOU can engage in the scientific process to address real-world problems, including making weather observations, monitoring streams and lakes, and contributing to research.

Missouri Stream Team

Missouri Stream Team is a working partnership of citizens who are concerned about Missouri Streams. The Stream Team Program provides an opportunity for all citizens to get involved in river conservation. Attendees of the first Rivers and Streams Conference in 1988 set the following Stream Team goals:

  1. Education: Learning all you can about Missouri's 110,000 miles of flowing water is as easy as it is fun. Stream Team provides training and information to better understand our stream systems and the problems and opportunities they face.
  2. Stewardship: Hands-on projects such as litter control, streambank stabilization, streamside tree planting, water quality monitoring, and storm drain stenciling, are all possibilities. Stream Team can help you plan a project or match you with an agency or organization effort.
  3. Advocacy: Speaking on behalf of your adopted stream when development or harmful activities tamper with them is not as difficult as you might think. Those who have gained firsthand knowledge of problems, solutions, and needs are best equipped to speak out on behalf of Missouri's stream resources. Writing letters, attending meetings, and contacting your elected officials can all be ways to get involved.

Lakes of Missouri Volunteer Program

The Lakes of Missouri Volunteer Program (LMVP) was created in 1992 and began with four lakes in the Kansas City area. Since then about 200 volunteers have participated and water samples have been collected on over 50 different lakes around the state. Many lakes have several sample sites. Table Rock Lake, for example, currently has 18 sample sites.

The goals of the LMVP are:

  1. To determine the current water quality based on productivity or trophic state of Missouri's lakes;
  2. To monitor for changes in water quality over time; and
  3. To educate the public about lake ecology and water quality issues.

CoCoRaHS

CoCoRaHS is an acronym for the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail, and Snow Network. CoCoRaHS is a unique, non-profit, community-based network of volunteers of all ages and backgrounds working together to measure and map precipitation (rain, hail, and snow). By using low-cost measurement tools, stressing training and education, and utilizing an interactive website, they aim to provide the highest quality data for natural resource, education, and research applications. They are now in all fifty states.

City of Columbia Volunteering Program

The City of Columbia Volunteer Program connects residents to opportunities to serve in their local government. Opportunities range from one-time events to ongoing programs.

The Mission of the City of Columbia Volunteer Program is to provide valuable opportunities to build community while volunteering in city government.