South Carolina Adopt-a-Stream (SC AAS) is a statewide volunteer water quality monitoring program. SC AAS empowers community members to protect and improve water quality through education and certified volunteer monitoring. Anyone can attend a free workshop to become certified in four different protocols: freshwater stream, tidal saltwater, macroinvertebrate, and lake monitoring. Volunteers enter data into a free, publicly accessible database. Data helps establish baseline site conditions, increases community awareness and engagement, and sparks investigation with local partners when pollution threats emerge. SC AAS is a program of SCDES operated in conjunction with the Environmental Education Association of South Carolina and in partnership with many public and private supporters.