Air Quality
In Imperial County, Comité Cívico del Valle has helped lead a community-based air monitoring network focused on measuring particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10) across the region. This effort is intentionally collaborative, bringing together community members, academic partners such as the University of Washington, and public health organizations including the Public Health Institute and Tracking California.
Together, they designed, sited, and maintain a low-cost air monitor network placed throughout local neighborhoods to reflect both scientific standards and lived community experience. Community leadership is central to the network’s design and operation through a Community Steering Committee.
The resulting data feed into IVAN Air Monitoring, a publicly accessible platform that provides near real-time air quality information across the county. The monitors are validated and quality-controlled with regulatory-grade equipment, ensuring the data are scientifically credible and suitable for public health, research, and policy use.
The network plays a critical role in health protection, public awareness, and environmental justice. In a county with high asthma rates and frequent air pollution events, real-time data help families, schools, and community members make informed decisions—such as limiting outdoor activities on poor air quality days.
Importantly, the community sensor network has detected pollution spikes that traditional regulatory monitors often miss, prompting the State of California to improve calibration of its own monitoring systems. The data also support research that maps pollution hotspots, improves exposure estimates, and strengthens community-led advocacy for stronger air quality protections.
CCV has also prioritized capacity building, sustainability, and policy impact. Local residents are trained to operate and maintain monitors, manage data, and interpret results—building long-term technical and scientific capacity within the community.
For questions or to learn more, please contact us at contact@ccvhealth.org.
AQ for EJ
The AQ for EJ project aims to create collaborative partnerships with communities in Canada, the United States and Mexico to implement air quality monitoring and mitigation actions for PM2.5 and black carbon (BC) emissions and exposure.
The objective of this collaboration is to share CCV air quality monitoring experience with other North American communities and complement CCV’s current community-led air monitoring network by incorporating Black Carbon.
IVAN Community
In Imperial County, Comité Cívico del Valle has led and sustained a community-based air monitoring network that combines scientific rigor with community leadership to measure particulate matter across local neighborhoods.
In partnership with academic and public health institutions, CCV deployed and maintains approximately 40 validated air monitors, with residents guiding site selection through a community steering committee.
CCV continues IVAN data collection through routine maintenance and operations, including sensor calibration, repairs, and troubleshooting in accordance with IVAN standard operating procedures, while also providing technical assistance on best practices for maintenance, record keeping, data summaries, and preliminary analyses.
The data are publicly available through the IVAN Air Monitoring platform, enabling families, schools, and agencies to respond to real-time air quality conditions, identify pollution hotspots, and advance health protections, policy action, and environmental justice in a region with high asthma rates.
Toxic-metal TARTA
CCV, in collaboration with the UC Davis Air Quality Research Center (AQRCC) and Environmental Health Science Center (EHSC), is establishing a regional air monitoring network in the highly polluted Salton Sea Air Basin to screen for toxic metal hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) at low cost and high time resolution.
Leveraging CCV’s existing stationary particulate matter (PM) IVAN network and deploying field-tested portable devices, the project can monitor toxic metal HAPs in real time and help underrepresented communities determine the source of HAPs and evaluate future actions that may reduce emissions.
Lithium Valley Impacts Monitoring Tool
With growing interest in lithium extraction from the Salton Sea using direct lithium extraction (DLE), local communities have raised concerns about water usage, air quality, traffic, and limited access to the economic benefits of this development.
In response, CCV and Tracking California plan to develop the Lithium Valley Impacts Monitoring Tool (LV-IMT), a GIS-enabled platform that will empower residents to monitor and analyze DLE’s environmental and social impacts, and advocate for informed and equitable outcomes.
During the grant period, the project aims to build the tool’s technical infrastructure, integrate air quality and spatial data, ensure accessibility for community members, and provide training and education to foster local capacity for environmental justice advocacy.