The Community Science Institute (CSI) is a not-for-profit, 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization whose mission is to empower local people to understand their environment and manage their resources sustainably, particularly water.

We recruit, train and support groups of volunteers to partner with our state-certified water quality testing lab and monitor streams and lakes over the long term.

By participating directly in the scientific process of collecting management-quality data, volunteers become knowledgeable stewards of their watersheds.

Want to be a CSI volunteer? Email Becky, CSI’s Director of Outreach at becky@communityscience.org

Data produced by our monitoring partnerships with local volunteers fills gaps left by federal, state and academic programs. Monitoring results, available free of charge, help position local governments to manage water resources and distribute costs equitably among stakeholders. Browse CSI’s database of water quality data.

With generous financial support from county and municipal governments in Tompkins County, New York, local foundations and membership donations,  CSI  has partnered with eleven groups of volunteers to collect over 35,000 pieces of certified water quality data on Cayuga Lake and its tributary streams since 2003. You can support CSI by becoming a member today!

CSI’s certified lab performs water quality testing for drinking water and can test your well water for analytes ranging from basic bacteria tests to comprehensive baseline testing. Baseline testing establishes the levels of 20 “signature chemicals” that are most likely to change in the event of contamination from hydraulic fracturing fluids and shale gas waste. See here for a complete list of tests and prices.