Community Water Monitoring Initiative (CWMI)

What is the Community Water Monitoring Initiative?  

Launched in 2024, the Community Water Monitoring Initiative (CWMI) brings together stewardship groups from across the region to monitor watershed health using consistent, science-based methods aligned with provincial standards. By collecting comparable data across multiple watersheds, the program supports informed decision-making and helps improve our understanding of how local streams respond to pressures such as climate change, land use change, development, and other environmental stressors. 

The collaborative regional monitoring network is composed of the following groups: 

• Beaufort Watershed Stewards 
• Brooklyn Creek Watershed Society 
• Little River Enhancement Society 
• Millard Piercy Watershed Stewards 
• Morrison Creek Streamkeepers 
• Perseverance Creek Streamkeepers of the Cumberland Community Forest Society 
• Project Watershed 
• Tsolum River Restoration Society 

Project Watershed coordinates the program by providing training, equipment, technical support, and centralized data management. Volunteers monitor five key water quality indicators—temperature, turbidity, pH, specific conductivity, and dissolved oxygen—during summer low-flow conditions and the first fall flush each year. 

The CWMI builds on decades of watershed stewardship in the Comox Valley. The program’s standardized monitoring protocols were informed by the experience of the Beaufort Watershed Stewards and Millard Piercy Watershed Stewards, who were among the first local groups trained in the provincial monitoring methods. 

The above map shows the 2025 monitoring sites within the Comox Valley (sites extending into the RDN are not included here).

How to get Involved 

• Sign up for updates – Join our Water Monitors mailing list to hear about upcoming training sessions and monitoring opportunities.  
• Attend a training session – Volunteer training will be offered before each monitoring season. Upcoming sessions will be posted on our Volunteer Events Calendar. 
• Review the monitoring protocols – Read the CWMI Field Manual before heading into the field.  
• Volunteer with a stewardship group – Contact one of the participating organizations to get involved in monitoring near you. 

Monitoring Data 

Data collected through the CWMI are publicly available through Pacific DataStream for use by community members, researchers, educators, and decision-makers. Explore the datasets below: 

• Beaufort Watershed Stewards 
• Brooklyn Creek Watershed Society (coming soon!) 
• Little River Enhancement Society (coming soon!) 
• Millard Piercy Watershed Stewards 
• Morrison Creek Streamkeepers 
• Project Watershed (Glen Urquhart & Mallard Watersheds) 
• Tsolum River Restoration Society  
• Perseverance Creek Streamkeepers 

Program Resources 

• Field Manual 
• Volunteer Field Safety Policy for Unsupervised Activities 
• Field data sheet 
• Monitoring Site Guide (coming soon!) 

For questions or support, please contact Casey at Casey.Doucet@projectwatershed.ca.  

The CWMI is supported by members of the Comox Valley Conservation Partnership, with funding from the City of Courtenay, the Comox Valley Community Foundation’s Environment Grant and the Comox Valley Regional District‘s Rural Community Grant Program.