![Pat and Marie Sweeny take a water sample Pat and Marie Sweeny take a water sample](https://media.alaskapublic.org/wp-content/uploads/archive/aprn/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/water-sample-015-300x225.jpg)
Ongoing efforts to monitor Matanuska Valley water systems are being manned by volunteers, who brave foul weather and mosquitoes to collect accurate data to help fight water pollution. A few years ago, many Wasilla residents noticed white foam on Cottonwood Creek, a stream that meanders through urban congestion. Their observations spurred an intensive quality assessment program aimed at finding the source of the foam.
Ellen Lockyer, KSKA – Wasilla