Water Quality Monitoring
Photo: C. Edmonds
Our Chapter supports the James River Watch program of the James River Association and the River Trends program of the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay. Trained JRMN volunteers monitor and submit data for several creeks in our area every month throughout the year, testing water quality indicators such as pH, dissolved oxygen, and turbidity in order to track water quality conditions over time.
Photo: C. Edmonds
Water from the James River can be collected in a bucket and brought to shore to be tested. In a smaller stream, if safe, testing can be done out in the middle of the current.
Photo: S. Reilly
Before leaving for the test site, volunteers calibrate pH meters and check chemicals for potency. Once at the test site, pH and temperature are measured. Dissolved oxygen in a water sample is "fixed" there as well, meaning that it is chemically stabilized so that the amount of oxygen does not change during transportation.
Photo: S. Reilly
The test for water clarity is done on site using a turbidity tube.
Photo: C. Edmonds
Water temperature is tested and recorded.
Smaller creeks are tested following the same protocol.
Photo: S. Whitmore
Photo: S. Whitmore
Photo: S. Whitmore
Back home or at the testing station, the amount of dissolved oxygen in the sample is determined, and the pH meter is re-tested for accuracy. Finally, data is uploaded to the Chesapeake Data Explorer. From there it is sent annually to Virginia's Department of Environmental Quality for use in Virginia's Integrated Water Quality Assessment Report and the Chesapeake Bay Program.