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Water Monitoring

Biological Monitoring

Chemical Monitoring

Physical Monitoring

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Chemical monitoring

Chemical monitoring and testing is one of the most accurate and reliable testing methods.  Chemical testing is used to analyze drinking water.  It is extremely useful for determining sources of pollution, as well as determining specific pollutants.  For example, high concentrations of nitrogen and phosphorus may indicate fertilizer runoff from a nearby farm. AMD pollution usually results in high pH and iron levels

Common Chemical Tests

AMD Tests

When monitoring streams suffering from AMD pollution, a standard battery of tests is used, with other tests added in if necessary.  These tests allow a clear picture of the stream health to be gathered through monitoring.  The combination of the following tests reports on the acid levels of the stream as well as mineral and metal levels.

Temperature Acidity Dissolved Oxygen (DO) pH Aluminum
Flow Alkalinity Total Dissolved Solids (Conductivity)  Iron Manganese

Other tests

Other chemical tests may also be used during monitoring.  These tests can give indications of other pollution sources, such as nutrient run-off from streams or stream bank erosion.

Nitrogen Phosphorus
Sulfates Turbidity