River Watch
River Watch enhances watershed understanding and awareness for tomorrow’s decision-making through direct hands-on, field-based experiential watershed science. Schools throughout the Red River of the North Basin participate in a variety of unique and innovative engagement opportunities suited to their school, community, and watershed needs.
Water Quality Monitoring
Students collect and record conditions at local rivers and streams using state-of-the-art scientific methods and equipment.
ROUTINE SAMPLING
River Watch Teams visit assigned monitoring sites several times a year and then submit their data into our database. Explore data across years and sites at river.watch.
River.Watch DatabaseANNUAL TRAINING
IWI and MPCA host an annual training to ensure a high standard of data quality in the Red River Basin.
Training MaterialsAnnual River Watch Forum
The annual River Watch Forum brings teachers, students, and natural resource professionals together to present, learn, and engage on water resource topics. The first River Watch Forum took place in 1995 and has grown from several small local gatherings into a major annual event with over 300 attendees.
2027 RIVER WATCH FORUM ASSIGNMENT RESOURCES: Water Quality
Information Coming Soon!
Coming SoonComing SoonComing Soon2026: WatershEducation!
Students were tasked with creating a watershed education program for K, 1st, 2nd, or 3rd grade students, and pitched their programs to judges at the Forum!
2026 Forum Recap2024: Leaping into Watershed Communications
The 2024 Forum was held on February 28th in Grand Forks. Teams were tasked with creating a calendar, sampling binder, and podcast!
2024 Forum Recap2025: 30 Years of River Watch!
The 2025 Forum marked the 30th year of River Watch Programming in the Red River Basin!
2025 Forum RecapPAST FORUM ARCHIVE
Access posters and videos submitted by our schools from 2012 to present.
Forum ArchiveMacroinvertebrate Sampling
Macroinvertebrate sampling allows scientists to connect water quality to in-stream biological health. Certain species of river bugs (macroinvertebrates) are only able to survive in unpolluted systems. Their presence or absence can indicate whether or not a waterbody is healty. Oh, and it is also a fun, hands-on experience for all!
Pollution Tolerance Index
Pollution tolerance indices help estimate the quality of water – below is one example of a PTI sheet and a key to identify macroinvertebrate species.
PTI SheetDichotomous KeyVIRTUAL MACROS
Learn more about macros and put your knowledge to the test with this virtual activity.
Macro Virtual ActivityRiver Explorers
An opportunity for River Watch teams to kayak local streams, allowing a unique persepective of watershed health, recreation, and wildlife.
STORY MAPS
Following the completion of a River Explorers Paddling Trip, students and staff work together to compile photos and observations to create a map.
Story MapsTo explore more about River Watch, check out our flyer and 2025 Report.
A special “Thank You!” to the sponsors below, who have helped sponsor River Watch programming and/or the Forum.
