When parents call their local water quality departments this summer asking if it’s safe for their children to play in nearby streams, the answers won’t just be coming from hydrologists with fancy lab equipment.
They’ll also come from the small army of kids and community members who make up TenneSEA’s Stream Teams.
TenneSEA is the local division of the Caribbean Student Environmental Alliance, founded and directed by Signal Mountain resident Mary Beth Sutton and dedicated to clean water programs in both the Caribbean and Southeastern Tennessee.
TenneSEA has long taught Chattanooga kids to care for their water, but its Stream Teams have helped young, local environmentalists take more ownership of the watersheds in their neighborhood.
The teams test the bacteria levels in different creeks after a big rainstorm or during scheduled times of the year, then report their findings to show any changes that may have occurred. TenneSEA then shares that data with local and state water quality specialists such as the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation – which, Sutton reminds testers, cannot be everywhere.