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Poster Short Abstract

The community science project, Voluntarios por el Agua has been measuring the water quality of the rivers of the Maipo watershed in Chile on a monthly basis for 4 years. Here we illustrate the geography, the socioenviromental issues, some scientific results and the bond forged within the community.

Poster Abstract

The community science project, Voluntarios por el Agua has been measuring water quality for four years, on a monthly basis in the rivers of the Maipo watershed in central Chile. We will explain the physico-chemical paremeters we chose to measure, the data issues we had to surmount and the data that has come out of the project. The repeat photography proved to be very useful, showing water levels, turbidity, weather, vegetation and they will provide a picture of the rivers and the surrounding mountains for years to come.

This project has taken a life of its own and keeps on going month after month, despite a lack of funding and organisational structure because local people enjoy their monthly meet ups and observing and immersing themselves in these Andean rivers. We provide a profile of the volunteers and an insight into what it is like to be a Voluntario por el Agua.