Water Quality Monitoring

Monitoring the quality of water in our streams, rivers and lakes and drains provides essential information regarding the health of our streams and their catchments.

The monitoring of streams also helps us to track the success of Landcare and reclamation work upstream.
It also enables us to remotely track the negative effects of development, logging, road making and operation of heavy trucks and machinery in wet weather further upstream in the catchment.

WaterWatch is an Australian organisation which employs local coordinators who teach and support volunteers working in their catchments.
This support includes:

WaterWatch may provide some equipment to assist with collection and analysis of samples.
It may provide this equipment directly to the volunteers, or it may assist in finding sponsors, such as local councils, who will fund a set of equipment for use by volunteers.
At its most basic the WaterWatcher's kit consists of
Sample Bottle
Thermometer - for Air and Water Temperature
Ruler or Tape Measure for depth measurement

The more advanced and independent WaterWatcher may add some or all of the following equipment.
Turbidity Tube
Conductivity Meter
pH Test Kit
Phosphorus Test Kit
Nitrogen Test Kit
Dissolved Oxygen Test Kit

Tests which may be of parrticular interest for community monitors in some areas include:
Hydrocarbon Tests
Bacterial Tests
Herbicide and Pesticide Tests

Links

You will find very comprehensive information on Equipment, Methods, Quality Control, Suppliers and indicative Costs (in Australia) at: WaterWatch, Victoria, Australia - www.vic.waterwatch.org.au.
Some of the documents are supplied in the form of .pdf files, so you will need to have the Adobe Acrobat reader installed to read and print these.

CSIRO Land & Water, Australia - http://www.clw.csiro.au

Last updated, JP, Design Productivity, 7/6/2001