Cleveland Water Alliance developed Lake Erie Volunteer Science Network (LEVSN) to empower local communities in monitoring Lake Erie’s water quality. Through collaborative partnerships, LEVSN equips residents with tools and training to test water technologies and collect standardized, reliable data for broader scientific and community use. What began as a part of the Great Lakes One Water (GLOW) initiative has now grown into a multi-state effort to enhance water monitoring across the basin.
LEVSN’s journey began with a simple question: How can we empower residents to interact with and care for their own waters? The answer came through collaboration. As part of the Great Lakes One Water (GLOW) partnership—an initiative uniting community foundations across the Great Lakes to tackle regional water challenges—the Cleveland Foundation brought our Executive Director, Bryan Stubbs, into the conversation, where he proposed engaging residents in water quality monitoring. This idea became the foundation for a network that would soon require a unified approach to ensure reliable and impactful data was being collected.
Originally launched with support from GLOW, this program began as the Smart Citizen Science Initiative aimed at empowering Lake Erie communities to monitor their local water quality. During its initial three years, GLOW funding allowed the program to grow and build a strong network of dedicated participants. Even after this funding period ended, the commitment from volunteers remained high, with many groups continuing their involvement independently and new groups joining in.
This initiative was later rebranded as the Lake Erie Volunteer Science Network to reflect its evolution into a long-term, community-centered initiative. This new name emphasizes inclusivity and acknowledges the diverse individuals and groups who share in the mission to protect Lake Erie, moving away from the term 'citizen,' which can unintentionally exclude community members.
As LEVSN expanded, we saw a growing need to ensure that volunteer-collected data was not only credible but also consistent across the network. In response, CWA hosted the inaugural Lake Erie Citizen Science Summit in 2022 as part of the State of Lake Erie Conference in Cleveland, in partnership with the International Association for Great Lakes Research (IAGLR). This event, co-organized with Ohio Sea Grant and funded by the Cooperative Institute for Great Lakes Research (CIGLR) and the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District, brought together leaders from volunteer science groups to lay the groundwork for a standardized approach to community-driven water monitoring.
The summit catalyzed the development of the Lake Erie Baseline Assessment Framework (LEBAF), a comprehensive guide ensuring that data collected by volunteers is both reliable and scientifically valuable. With guidance from Barb Horn of the Water Data Collaborative, we worked closely with partner organizations and participating volunteer groups to define shared goals and protocols. This collaborative approach included identifying the intended uses of the data, the impacts we aimed to achieve, and the common objectives across groups, ultimately shaping LEBAF into a tool that supports accuracy across all volunteer-collected data.
LEVSN also partnered with Water Reporter, a software service built for anyone interested in keeping a watch and collecting information on the state of the natural world. This is a data platform that aggregates, analyzes, and visualizes water quality data. It allows participants to generate maps, graphs, and visual storytelling tools that help LEVSN volunteers communicate water quality insights more effectively to their communities.
LEVSN’s participating hubs span Michigan, Ohio, and New York, and are individually community-driven by organizations such as watershed stewardship groups, local parks systems, and research institutions. These groups recruit and train volunteers that may include students, families, retirees, and residents of all ages.Initially beginning with eight organizations, LEVSN now has 18 groups contributing standardized data, with more preparing to join next year. Cleveland Water Alliance’s Deputy Director of Programs and Partnerships, Max Herzog, shared that 'LEVSN allows local groups to collect high-quality data that enables them to take action on local watershed issues and contribute their perspectives to a regional story about the health of Lake Erie watersheds.' Through the network, community volunteers have taken on a crucial role in monitoring over 147 sites across 54 Lake Erie Basin waterways.
Thanks to funding from the State of Ohio, LEVSN equips participants with easy-to-use water quality sensors, enabling them to monitor critical data with precision and consistency. These tools make it possible for volunteers—regardless of prior experience—to gather meaningful water quality data that can directly inform local action. LEVSN also partners with innovators to trial new water monitoring technologies within the network, providing unique, hands-on opportunities for volunteers to engage with cutting-edge tools while delivering valuable user feedback. This support, combined with the standardized guidance of the Lake Erie Baseline Assessment Framework, empowers local groups to contribute effectively to a basin-wide initiative, helping to protect and understand Lake Erie.
Through collective efforts and an unwavering dedication to protecting our water resources, LEVSN continues to drive impactful change. As we look toward the future, we invite communities, organizations, and individuals to join us in expanding this movement for a healthier, more resilient Lake Erie Basin.
If you are interested in supporting or partnering with LEVSN, please reach out to Max Herzog at mherzog@clewa.org. Together, we can ensure a healthier future for all Lake Erie Basin communities.
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