Funding for this project has been provided in full or in part by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, the Clean Water State Revolving Fund, Sempra Energy Foundation and the Metropolitan Water District of San Diego through an agreement with the State Water Resources Control Board.

Water Monitoring Testing

Did you miss the training on how to use the test kits? If so, you've come to the right place. Here is a check list of what you will need to do before and after you collect and analyze your samples. Read this before going out to sample.

PAPER WORK/ REGISTRATION. Make sure you have:

Signed the Release of Liability Form. If you don't have this, download them from the Forms Library.
Registered on-line for World Water Monitoring Day

TEST KIT, INSTRUCTIONS and GEAR

Instruction booklet from your test kit.
Water monitoring test kit. Check to see that the Secchi disk icon sticker is adhered to the bottom of your water testing kit container. The sticker should be in a slightly off-center position.
A large sterilized, wide-mouth jar or container (approx. 1 liter) with a lid. If your container is not sterilized, boil it and the lid for a few minutes. Let them cool until you can touch them. Screw the lid on to the container being careful to not touch the inside of the container.
A pair of protective gloves for each participant. A box of latex surgeon's gloves (or something similar to that) should be enough for your group.

FIELD DATA SHEETS

Once you arrive at the site to collect the sample, record the following on your field data sheet:

Date (mm/dd/yyyy)
Time (this is the time you collect the sample)
Sample Collection location(name of larger water body AND the specific location, i.e., Otay River at Date Street)
Name of School or Organization
Name of group leader, email, and number of students participating
Weather: whether or not it's rained within the last 72 hours, the condition of the sky (no clouds, partly cloudy, heavy clouds, overcast); precipitation (none, foggy, misty, rain); and the wind conditions (none, breezy, windy, blustery)
E-mail your test results to results@sdcwmc.org. These results will become part of the large database that is maintained by America's Clean Water Foundation.

Sample Collection

Next, follow the steps below to collect your water sample for testing.

Wear protective gloves.
Remove the cap of your sampling container (the sterilized, wide-mouth 1-liter jar or container).
Rinse the jar/container 2-3 times in the water you are going to sample downstream or away from where you will collect the sample.
Now, hold the container near the bottom and plunge it 3 - 6 inches below the water surface with the opening facing downward.
Turn the submerged container 90 degrees into the current and away from you.
Allow the water to flow into the container for about 30 seconds.
Cap the full container while it is still submerged. Remove it from the water immediately.

Next, you will be conducting five water quality tests. Conduct them in the order you see in the links below. Write in the results for each test you conduct onthe Field Data Sheet as you perform the tests. If you do not perform a test, write ‘NA’; do not leave blank or write zero.

After you've completed the testing, make sure you have entered results for all the fields and signed your Field Data Sheet.

Click here to see what you do next.

Join us for the World Water Monitoring Day from March 22nd-December 10th. Click here to register online, so you can test the water quality in your area.