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Water Chemistry Monitoring Workshops

These sessions are designed to inform citizens of the program's goals and how to monitor and evaluate physical and chemical features of water. Six water quality parameters, measured with a customized test kit, form the core of the citizen data. The basic monitoring
parameters are:

  1. Temperature
  2. Dissolved oxygen
  3. Total alkalinity
  4. Hardness
  5. pH
  6. Turbidity
Citizens who monitor lakes or deeper waterbodies often use a Secchi disk to determine the degree of visibility in natural waters. The 20 cm diameter disk is weighted and has a line that is marked every tenth meter. To collect samples from deeper waterbodies, monitors can use a Remote Sampler. This sampler can also be used to conduct depth profiles in a lake, up to 10 ft. deep. Citizens who monitor brackish and/or marine waters on the coast also measure salinity with a Hydrometer.

Water Quality background information provided by the USGS Sustainability Information Network