Two students conducting water monitoring work in the Poudre River.

Article

April 1, 2025

Written by Duard Headley | Translated by Carlos José Pérez Sámano

(River) Watch and Learn

Observación y aprendizaje fluvial

Students keep local rivers clean and build hands-on experience through new certificate program.

Los estudiantes mantienen limpios los ríos locales y adquieren experiencia práctica gracias a un nuevo programa de certificación.

From its source nestled high in the Rocky Mountains to where it meets the South Platte River just east of Greeley, the Cache la Poudre River flows down 6,155 ft. in elevation, across 126 miles of Colorado countryside and provides an average of 89 billion gallons of water annually—including drinking water for more than 400,000 residents in northern Colorado.

Simply put, that’s a lot of water.  

But here in Greeley, for the past 25 years, the number of sites dedicated to monitoring the quality of all that water has been a resounding zero. 

In 2024, that changed. 

Faculty members and students from the University of Northern Colorado (UNC), in partnership with the River Management Society (RMS), came together to restore and restart Greeley’s River Watch water quality monitoring site, which had been out of commission since 1998. 

Now, students interested in river science can earn a certificate in River Studies and Leadership, building hands-on experience in, on and around the Poudre River while helping preserve an important source of water in Northern Colorado.

This certificate is a collaboration between the departments of Chemistry, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, and Geography, GIS, and Sustainability, representing the kind of real-life interdisciplinary work that many jobs and industries are valuing more than ever.

“Here in the west, water and water management are important issues,” said Chelsie Romulo, associate professor of Geography, GIS and Sustainability in UNC’s College of Humanities and Social Sciences. “Everything from jumping in and swimming, to water use in larger industries is impacted by the quality of the water itself.”

Students who participate in this certificate program will have the chance to learn about many facets of water ecosystems, including the social impacts of water on communities, the economic influence bodies of water can have, the chemistry involved in monitoring water quality and more. 

“This is an excellent opportunity for students to use their theoretical knowledge in science and management in the real world. They gain valuable skills and are simply very excited to do it, as they see the importance the work has in the real word,” said Sharon Bywater-Reyes, associate professor of Environmental Geosciences. Bywater-Reyes was the lead faculty member when getting the River Studies and Leadership certificate approved here at UNC.  

That real-world experience students obtain can help them in their careers post-graduation.

“This program really is a great opportunity for our students,” Romulo said. “Every state, no matter where you go, has some sort of water quality monitoring program. So, these skills and experiences will be useful no matter where students end up.” 

Genevieve Hankins, a senior majoring in Earth Sciences with an emphasis in Environmental Science, was one of the first two students to enroll in the certificate program.

“At first, it felt a little like we were kind of  fumbling our way to figuring out how to do the work and do it efficiently,” Hankins said. “But at the same time, that was part of what made it special. We were all learning together, out there in the river in our waders, doing real, actual, hands-on work.”

Helping to monitor the water quality in the Poudre River is far from the only way Hankins hopes to use her degree in the broader world, but it’s an important one all the same. 

“One of the biggest reasons I came to Colorado in the first place was the outdoors,” Hankins said. “So, getting to use my passion for the outdoors in a scientific way is something that I really hope to be able to do; to make the world just a little bit better of a place if I can.” 

Although the River Studies and Leadership program is a relatively new offering at UNC, outside organizations are already taking notice of the work the university’s students are putting in.

“One of the folks from the state office came to our site a couple of weeks ago to check in, and she told me afterwards that her program is looking for interns,” Romulo said. “She specifically said to me, ‘we’d love to get one of your students. They’re great.’”

And connections to potential employment opportunities aren’t the only ways students in the River Science and Leadership certificate program are making waves outside of their class work. 

As part of their efforts at the Greeley River Watch site, students and faculty gather and compile data on a variety of water parameters, including levels of dissolved oxygen, pH, water hardness, alkalinity and more. This information is then organized and added to the ever-growing database of water quality maintained by River Watch teams across Colorado. From there, the data is used by state and federal representatives to determine whether Colorado’s water complies with the Clean Water Act. Colorado’s Parks and Wildlife agency and a variety of local governing bodies also occasionally make use of the data to help with policy decisions. 

The work at the site could even potentially impact how residents of Greeley interact with the Poudre River going forward.

The City of Greeley is currently working to restore the Poudre River within city limits. The Poudre River Restoration Initiative, according to the City of Greeley’s website, seeks to “develop the Poudre River as a community anchor and economic driver for the city,” “increase recreational opportunities so that everyone feels invited, welcome and safe,” and “create habitat features like spawning beds, wetland ponds, boulder clusters, and gravel bars,” among other stated goals. 

Romulo said that the water quality data collected by students and faculty members in the program could be vital to helping inform the actions the city takes as it seeks to restore and revitalize the Poudre riverfront in the area.

“Without a water quality monitoring site, we can’t know what restoration is needed or whether the water is safe for recreational uses,” Romulo said. 

To that end, the River Watch site maintained by students within this certificate program could be just what is needed to provide Greeley residents with greater access to a cleaner river. 

The River Studies and Leadership certificate is available now, and students who complete the program will receive certification from the River Management Society. The program consists of three core classes and two electives, for a total of 16 to 18 credit hours, depending on what electives are selected. In addition to those classes, students will participate in a river safety workshop and a professional research component. In the future, UNC faculty involved in the program hope to be able to offer certification directly through the university as well. 

Participants will take core courses in water management, hydrology and a GIS course on spatial relationships, data sets, monitoring tools and more. Then, students can decide whether they would like to pursue a scientific or policy-focused emphasis.

Regardless of the path they choose, Romulo said she encourages any interested students to come check the program out. 

“The students who love it, really love it. I’ve had students who have told me they’ll even be getting married in waders,” Romulo said. “It’s the kind of work that, whether you’re in the river or doing lab work, really sticks with you.”

For more information or to enroll, contact Dr. Sharon Bywater-Reyes at sharon.bywaterreyes@unco.edu or Dr. Chelsie Romulo at chelsie.romulo@unco.edu. 

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College

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