The Utah Climate Center is looking to expand its research team. It wants to recruit volunteers throughout the state to take daily water measurements.
"I think Utahns -- particularly in the rural parts of the state -- understand that water is a critical issue, only likely to become more critical in the coming years," said program coordinator Robert Davies. "The more information about how much precipitation we're getting, and how much we can expect, the better off we'll be in terms of planning."
The program has nearly doubled its army of "Water Rangers" in the past year to about 150 volunteers from 19 counties. But 10 rural counties still have no volunteers, and many other rural areas have too few volunteers to help the climate center develop a comprehensive look at precipitation statewide.
To participate, a volunteer must buy an $18 rain gauge, view a 20-minute how-to slide show online and report rain and snow measurements daily using the Internet.
Most days, the task only takes a minute or two, although it might take longer on snowy days.
"It's really very easy," said Davies, "and most people just love it."
The measurements help scientists track precipitation trends over time. The more locations reported, the clearer the true scientific picture of the trends.
The Climate Center program, based at Utah State University, is part of the national "Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network," with more than 8,000 daily precipitation observations. With so few Utah volunteers, only about 40 observations are reported each day statewide.
Contact Robert Davies at robert.davies@usu.edu, or visit the Web site at http://climate.usurf.usu.edu/cocorahs.php
