The Lakes of Missouri Volunteer Program (LMVP) has been enlisting community scientists to monitor the water quality of Missouri's lakes since 1992, making it one of the longest-running participatory science programs in the region. The primary objectives of the LMVP are to establish current water quality conditions, track long-term water quality trends, involve the public in freshwater conservation, and generate high-quality data to support lake management and decision-making.
Volunteers monitor approximately 130 sites across Missouri’s reservoirs, collecting data eight times per year on key water quality parameters, including nutrients (total nitrogen and total phosphorus, nitrate, and ammonium), chlorophyll, water clarity, temperature, and cyanotoxins. In addition to data collection, LMVP serves as an educational resource, providing training in water quality monitoring techniques and increasing understanding of lake ecosystems among volunteers, students, and the broader public.
Over 33 years, LMVP has maintained strong volunteer retention rates, with many participants contributing for a decade or more. This sustained effort has resulted in a robust dataset used for assessing long-term water quality trends and informing lake management strategies.
This presentation will highlight some of the lessons learned through these 33 years on volunteer retention and data quality and discuss how this extensive dataset has been key in advancing our understanding of Missouri’s reservoirs.