OSM/VISTA David Manthos (2011-2012) at a training with new volunteers learning how to measure conductivity and collect water samples for the CAPABLE monitoring program.
The Cheat Aquatic Pollution And BaseLine Ecological (CAPABLE) Monitoring Program is a volunteer initiative to collect vital statistics on the health of the Cheat watershed in streams that have not previously been tested and/or are at risk for impacts from natural resource extraction. FOC provides equipment to volunteers and traisn them to take conductivity and pH readings, record stream and water quality observations, and equip them to take water samples to send to a certified laboratory for analysis if necessary. Our volunteers monitor their site(s) as available, with a target frequency of once every two weeks .
Additionally, FOC has deployed continuous data-loggers in streams around the lower Cheat River watershed that take temperature and electrical conductivity readings every 15 minutes around the clock. These instruments have been deployed on major tributaries in the lower Cheat since Spring of 2010, and so far, have not recorded any significant changes in water quality.
For more information about trainings or the program, contact Aubrey Harris, CAPABLE Monitoring Program Coordinator, at 304-329-3621 or osm.vista@cheat.org.
Kingwood, WV 26537-1478 info@cheat.org 304-329-3621 
