Year of Clean Water: National Water Monitoring Day Water Testing Kits

National Water Monitoring Day Select a water body in your area that you want to test where there is easy and safe access to the water. Register the water body ahead of time at the Year of Clean Water website: Gather volunteers for the event. After your event, enter your data at the Year of Clean Water website.

Water Monitoring Day Data The primary purpose of Water Monitoring Day is education: to increase peoples awareness of local water features and of water quality issues. Data from this two-week event will be used by EPA as a snapshot of the nations water quality.

Water Monitoring Day Data The parameters measured with the kits are only a few of the many measures scientists use to evaluate aquatic ecosystems. Some other important environmental parameters are: nitrogen, phosphorus, metals, water color, conductivity, chlorophyll-a, and dissolved organic carbon.

Water Monitoring Day Data The test kit used for this event is a screening tool and is not an approved method for sample collection in the FDEP Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). Scientists use more sensitive instruments and methods to measure the parameters measured with this kit. The data collected will not be used by FDEP for regulation or monitoring.

About Your Test Kit Your National Water Monitoring Day test kit includes materials to test water for pH, dissolved oxygen, temperature, and turbidity. These parameters can give you important information about a water body.

About Your Test Kit Read the instructions included with the kit carefully. In addition to the kit, you will also need: protective gloves for each person helping with sample collection and/or testing, watch/stopwatch to time tests, pen and paper to record field notes and results, waste container/bucket, and any other relevant field safety equipment (e.g., sunscreen, bug spray, first-aid kit).

About Your Test Kit Before you begin, place the thermometer stickers on the outside of the white sample container, near the bottom. Place the Secchi Disk sticker on the bottom of the inside of the container, off- center. Note the location of the fill line.

Collecting a Water Sample A sample is a smaller piece of a whole, a representation. Select a sampling location and device so that your water sample will represent the whole water body. Your sampling device will probably be the white container included with the kit.

Collecting a Water Sample Follow the directions included with your kit to collect water. Fill the container very slowly; make sure the water does not splash or bubble into the container. Fill to above the turbidity fill line so you can use water for other tests first. Record your test results on a field sheet or in a notebook as you complete each test.

Temperature Temperature directly affects the rates of chemical reactions in water and within living things in the water. Temperature determines the solubility of oxygen in water. Extreme water temperatures can have toxic effects on aquatic plants and animals. Follow the instructions included with your test kit to measure water temperature at your field site; record the result.

Dissolved Oxygen Animals need oxygen to survive. Many aquatic animals such as fish and dragonfly larvae breath oxygen dissolved in the water. Groundwater is naturally lower in dissolved oxygen (DO) than surface water; therefore, spring water may have low DO levels. Too much organic matter in a water body will decrease the DO when it decomposes.

Dissolved Oxygen Follow the instructions included with your test kit to measure dissolved oxygen (DO) at your field site; the smaller vial is for the DO test. Take care to not let the water bubble as it flows into the DO testing vial. Use two tablets from a foil pack labeled DO. Hold the full vial over your waste container when you add the tablets and the cap. After the tablets dissolve, set the vial in the shade while you wait; the sun and your hands can change the water temperature quickly. Record the result.

pH pH is a measure of the concentration of hydrogen ions (acidity) in the water. A pH of 7 is neutral. Lower pH values (0-6) indicate acidic conditions, and higher pH values (8-14) indicate basic, or alkaline, conditions. Dark-water systems are naturally more acidic; spring-water systems are naturally more alkaline.

pH Follow the instructions included with your test kit to measure pH at your field site; the larger vial is for the pH test. Use one tablet from a foil pack labeled pH. Record the result.

Turbidity Light availability in water is a very important aspect of aquatic ecosystems. Plants and phytoplankton need light for the process of photosynthesis. Too many suspended solids in the water can interfere with animals respiration. JTU stands for Jackson Turbidity Units. The range of the JTU scale is JTU indicates high turbidity that has the potential to be ecologically harmful. The method used in the test kit is actually a measure of light penetration into water, not true turbidity. DEP measures NTUs or Nephelometric Turbidity Units.

Turbidity Follow the instructions for turbidity in your test kit to measure light penetration at your field site. Remember to hold the comparison card against the top of the container when you are determining the result. Record the result.

Other Tips… Items to record at your field site include: name of each person present, name of the water body, description of the field site and weather conditions, type of test kit or meter used, and the result of each test. Pour waste into your waste container. Dispose of waste in a sink with a lot of tap water. Rinse containers and vials with tap water. Allow materials to dry before you store them.

THANK YOU Thank you for participating in National Water Monitoring Day in celebration of the Year of Clean Water! Dont forget to enter your results at the Year of Clean Water website: For more information, please visit the FDEP website:

This presentation was produced by Amy Wheeler and Shannon Gerardi, FDEP Environmental Assessment Section.