As Houston continues to recover from Hurricane Harvey, Hurricane Irma batters the Caribbean and heads toward Florida, and Mexico prepares for Hurricane Katia, our thoughts go out to all those effected by these devastating storms. As the Boston Globe reports, global climate change is increasing the likelihood and frequency of powerful hurricanes and other storms. The northeast has already experienced a 71% increase between 1958 and 2012 in the amount of rain that falls in very intense storms.

Charles River Watershed Association (CRWA) is rethinking urban infrastructure. We are focusing on design solutions that use or mimic natural processes. We are looking to reestablish natural water, carbon and nutrient cycles within our human environments. We are designing and promoting infrastructure that will solve the problems of today and allow us to adapt to a changing future. As an urban watershed association, CRWA has always believed that we can and must design our cities in a way that allows human and ecological systems to co-exist and thrive in close proximity.

From November 30^th to December 14^th, global world leaders met in Paris to discuss global climate change. The 2015 Paris Climate Conference, or COP21, produced the first global agreement on a process and pathway to stem the tide of global warming. While this was truly a historic event, it fell at a time when many of us are preoccupied by our own, less global, challenges, such as what should I get my father-in-law? What do I bake for my Aunt’s party? Did I already get year-end gifts for my kid’s teacher? And why does my husband keep playing that same holiday music CD over and over?  So for those of you who might have been a bit distracted by the season, a COP summary to the tune that is already stuck in your head.

The Charles, like any natural environment, is a complex, interconnected, living, changing system. At CRWA, our work is guided by the philosophy that we cannot address and manage problems in the Charles without understanding them. Collecting and analyzing our own data is a critical piece of this process and the backbone of CRWA’s advocacy and design work. Whether monitoring is conducted by staff, interns or volunteers, everyone follows strict monitoring protocols to ensure we collect the most accurate data available. In celebration of World Water Monitoring Day, read on to learn more about five ways CRWA monitors the Charles every day.