The KRWW encourages local watershed groups to submit Citizen Action Plans, or CAPs. These plans serve as a tool to turn water quality data into action by providing guidance for appropriate and effective efforts to improve the water quality of a particular stream or watershed. After making an assessment of the needs of the watershed, volunteer monitors identify action that they will take to address the watershed needs.

The standard format of a KRWW CAP includes four main components:

Part I: Environmental and Cultural History

Consists of a description of the selected watershed, identified by name and 11-digit HUC, as is described in the Kentucky River Basin Assessment Report (KWRI, 2000).

Part II: Citizen/Scientific Examination

Assembles the data that the KRWW project has gathered about that watershed for all years available.

Part III: Assessment

Provides volunteer-developed conclusions based on the data. Is the watershed healthy, or does it seem to have problems?

Part IV: Action Items

Outlines potential ways to turn the data into action. (Nine suggested action items are provided to assist volunteers in developing these action items, ranging from meeting with local officials to review the data, to recruiting more volunteers, to doing more sampling.) Once CAPs are completed by a local group, they are submitted to the KRWW Steering Committee for review and approval. To date, CAPs have been developed for: