Water quality is crucial in any community. I applaud the Citizens' Volunteer Monitoring Program (CVMP) for its inspired efforts to collect samples and data with the help of community members. Who better to participate than those who live, work, and play in Westchester County?

In addition to getting the critical information needed to analyze water supplies, the county saves money and-might I add-promotes social and environmental responsibility. Even 14-year-olds can participate in the program. That's a good time for youth to stand up and take notice of our natural resources.

CVMP is administered by the Westchester County Department of Planning. The department has set a clear goal to protect the county's water supply. The program is announced and detailed in an online article on the county's website.

"One goal of the stream monitoring program is to connect communities with their water resources by hands-on involvement and education," the article last updated on April 23, 2010 said.

This program isn't new. In fact, volunteers have been helping to monitor the water supply for seven years. That's one of the aspects about Westchester County that I absolutely love. It's so family friendly here.

There were reportedly more than 100 people helping with the program in 2009. They, "tested the water of local streams and compiled the physical, chemical and biological data to compare the health of the county's water to the quality standards established by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation."

Ready to get your feet wet with this program? The county's looking for volunteers right now for the 2010 season. You don't have to be a biologist to help, you just have to be interested in protecting the environment!

This year the program will focus on six major Westchester County drainage basins:

• Bronx River
• Croton River
• Upper and Lower Hudson River Basins
• Upper and Lower Long Island Sound Basins

Best of all, the data collected by volunteers will be available online at http://cvmp.westchestergov.com.

Contact Susan Darling at (914) 995-6535 or e-mail sad8@westchestergov.com to sign up for a training session and get started!

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About Susan Slotnick
Since Susan Slotnick arrived on the Westchester County, NY real estate scene, she has received numerous awards such as the Prudential Real Estate Chairman's Circle Gold Award (reserved only for associates in the worldwide company's top 5 percent of sales). Prudential Real Estate bestowed the Presidential Chairman Award in 2006 (that's the highest award available in the Prudential community).