Water Monitoring Overview
Water quality monitoring is an excellent way to diagnose and document the health of your watershed. Continued monitoring can provide a documented record of the watersheds health and is essential in restoration efforts. Clean-up efforts may not have immediate results, but regular monitoring allows the results to be seen overtime as water quality gradually improves.
Before beginning a water monitoring project, it is important to understand what water quality is and how to test it:
- Water quality
- Biological monitoring
- Biotic index
- Macroinvertebrate Guide
- Fish shocking
- Chemical monitoring
- Physical monitoring
Once you know how to test the water around you, it is time to develop a monitoring plan:
Some general links containing water monitoring information on methods and the meaning of the results:
Pennsylvania
Senior Environment Corps (PaSEC)
Pennsylvania Seniors leading the charge with statewide volunteer water
monitoring.
Monitoring water quality from EPA's Office of Wetlands, Oceans and Watersheds (OWOW)
Biological indicators of watershed health from EPA
Standard procedures for water quality analysis
Volunteer stream monitoring: A Methods Manual
Another very valuable resource is a manual for the Citizens Volunteer Monitoring Handbook produced by PA DEP. A hard copy of this manual is also available free of charge from DEP by contacting Diane Wilson at (717) 787-3730 or daiwilson@state.pa.us
Delaware Riverkeeper Network's Volunteer Monitoring Program has a variety of tools on their website useful in monitoring the health of streams and rivers.