Water Quality Monitoring
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Water Quality Monitoring Project Manager: Richard Hinch (804) 435-7484 Quality Assurance Officer: Skip Kramb (804) 435-0697 If you are interested in becoming a member of this environmental group please contact either Richard or Skip for further details. For information on how to view the results
of the groups monitoring activities on the Commonwealth of Virginia,
Department of Environmental Quality Database in Richmond, Virginia contact
Skip Kramb
CITIZEN VOLUNTEER WATER QUALITY MONITORING GROUP Organizational Meeting Minutes The meeting was held on Saturday, February 20th at 09:00AM at the Lancaster Community Library. In attendance were James Beckley, Commonwealth of Virginia, Department of Environmental Quality, Quality Assurance Coordinator; Richard Hinch, DCA Citizen Volunteer Water Quality Monitoring Project Manager; Skip Kramb, Quality Analyst and Team #3 Leader; Monitoring Team #1, George McMahon, Team Leader, Ran Marshall, Monitor; Team #2 Richard Hinch, Team Leader; Nancy Flynn, Team #4 Leader. Also in Attendance were Barry Anderson, Bill Burton, John and Helen Kelley, Paul Rockerfeller and a new member of the group Bill Whitney. James Beckley, VA-DEQ gave an overview of how the Commonwealth Fiscal situation has impacted the Citizen Volunteer Water Quality Monitoring Program, what the data collected by the DCA Citizen Volunteer Water Quality Monitoring Group is being used for, who is using the data and why it is important to continue the monitoring program. James also pointed out that the DCA Program is one of the premier programs being conducted on the Chesapeake Bay and is comparable to VA-DEQ actually putting their own monitoring personnel out in the field. Our DCA Monitors are currently fully certified Level III Water Quality Monitors, the same level as VA-DEQ Monitoring Personnel and are utilizing Level III Monitoring Procedures and Equipment. In addition to James Beckley's discussion the following items were discussed. Two new Oakton pHTestr 30 pH probes will be added to our monitoring equipment inventory. This will provide each of our four teams with their own pH meter this year. As last year we will continue to share our 2 Oakton DO 300 Dissolved Oxygen Meters between the four teams. There will be a slight realignment of the Sampling sites this year. We will continue to monitor all but a couple of our main stream locations continuing to concentrate on the database we have established from the previous two years. It is thought that rather than monitoring the overall mainstream water quality we might better concentrate more on the possible sources of pollutants in the coves off of the main streams. It was decided that the monitoring frequency of one monitoring trip per month was sufficient for the level of monitoring required by the VA-DEQ who normally monitor quarterly. A short review of monitoring procedures was held and it was decided that a refresher training session would be helpfull. This would be held in conjunction with James Beckley's visit on March 20th to re-certify our monitoring equipment. This would also facilitate James certifying our new monitoring members at Commonwealth of Virginia Standards. A discussing on the need for additional monitors and administrative members. John and Helen Kelley, Bill Whitney and Barry Anderson all emphasized their desire to become active monitors and assist in the monitoring program. Also discussed was whether DCA should begin a monitoring program in the Bluff Point PUD Area of Indian Creek. It was decided that existing members of the Dividing Creek Association who are residents on Indian Creek and have shown a past interest in water monitoring should be contacted and encouraged to develop an Indian Creek Water Quality Monitoring Group with any assistance our group might be able to provide. Richard Hinch and Skip Kramb will follow up on this and report back to the DCA Group. In conclusion James Beckley pointed out the need to continue extensive E. coli Bacteria monitoring at periodic problem areas on all three of the DCA creeks we monitor. The meeting closed at 11:00AM with a follow-up meeting scheduled for Saturday, March 20th at 09:00. Location of the meeting is yet to be determined. *************
What We Do As A We are an all
volunteer group of Association Members composed of four teams. Each Team
Member is Certified as a Commonwealth of Virginia Water Monitor by the
Commonwealth of Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (VA-DEQ). O ur
four teams sample the quality of our waters monthly from April 1st through
December 31st at 24 individual locations on Dividing, Prentice and Jarvis
Creeks. The testing by our teams is performed under a VA-DEQ Grant Contract
and the scrutiny of (VA-DEQ).
FY2009 Annual Report DIVIDING CREEK ASSOCIATION Citizen Volunteer WATER QUALITY MONITORING GROUP
FY 2009 END
OF YEAR REPORT
Monitoring Trip Summary (See the Attached EXCEL Spreadsheet for Sites Monitored)
Site Monitoring Period:
April 1, 2009 – December 31, 2009. Training Training and work
sessions have been ongoing throughout the year. Three formal Monitoring Problems/Activities encountered 1.) The QA Officer also
determined shortly after the April 4 training session with James 2.) Dissolved Oxygen
Data on 6/17/2009, Team 1’s, DO 300 s/n 476281 was flagged 3.) On the June 29th
Monitoring Trip Team 3 affected rescue involving an small overturned 4.) Dissolved Oxygen
Data on 6/24 Team 3’s D300 s/n 476280 was flagged bad by the 5.) Team 2 Had two
problems on their 10/01 monitoring trip. Observed Water Conditions Of Dividing, Prentice and Jarvis Creeks Overall these Estuary
Areas of the Chesapeake Bay are low to completely free of Bacterial Dividing Creek The Upper End of
Dividing Creek appears to be free of any pollution. The Headwaters Prentice Creek The upper end and coves
in this area of Prentice Creek show signs of medium to severe Jarvis Creek The Main Body of Jarvis
Creek shows only Mild to low amounts of pollution even after
2009 Water Quality Monitoring Budget
DATE DESCRIPTION INCOME EXPENSE 1/15/2009
USPS Certified Postage to VA DEQ
$ 9.70 1/20/2009 VA DEQ 2009
Grant $1500.00
7/28/2009 Micrology Labs 12ea CPK 1 ColiScan
History
IS THIS WHAT IS IN YOUR WATER WHY NOT ASK WE CAN TELL YOU
In June 2006 five members of the Dividing Creek Association Rea Hinch, Ran Marshall, Mike Egerer, Pat Hammick and Skip Kramb decided to investigate the quality of our local waters.
DIVIDING CREEK
The initial five members canvassed association members in an attempt to determine if any additional members might be interested in the quality of the waters of Dividing, Prentice and Jarvis Creeks.
PRENTICE CREEK
As a result of this query it was found that 22 association members were indeed interested in our water quality. In July 2006 the Dividing Creek Association, Water Quality Monitoring Group came into being.
JARVIS CREEK/KENT COVE
WATER QUALITY MONITORING ACTIVITIES With the help of the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (VADEQ), the initial group of five members begin monitoring our local creeks by participating in the World Water Day Project using four LaMotte, World Water Monitoring Day Test Kits, provided by VA DEQ to determine the quality of our waters.
Four of the members participated in the WWMD Activities by taking water samples from a total of 29 locations on Dividing, Prentice and Jarvis Creeks. Tests for Dissolved Oxygen, pH (acidity), Turbidity (Water Clarity) and Water Temperature on the three creeks were taken a total of four times over the 30 day program period of September 18, 2006 through October 18, 2006. The fifth member of our initial group, Pat Hammick processed our sampling results and entered them on the World Water Monitoring Data Base. This data base has been used by a multitude of environmental organizations in assessing and comparing water quality around the world. The sampling results were forwarded to VADEQ as well for analysis and evaluation. With the experience gained taking these samples and the positive results of these initial tests the association hoped to advise and help additional monitors do further testing in 2007.
Prentice Creek
Skip Kramb Ran Marshall
WATER QUALITY MONITORING ACTIVITIES The year 2007 was primarily a planning year. While some actual
monitoring
WATER QUALITY MONITORING ACTIVITIES In late January, 2008 the association received word from VA DEQ and The Alliance for Chesapeake Bay that some surplus test kits and chemicals might be available. Thanks to the generosity of VA DEQ and the Alliance for Chesapeake Bay the Dividing Creek Association's Water Quality Monitoring Group now has four complete testing kits valued at approximately $400.00 each. With these four kits we have been able to established four teams of two to four members each. In addition to the kits we have been provided with the monitoring chemicals and materials to hopefully enable us to monitor at least until mid July, 2008. You mat observe the Water Quality Monitoring Volunteers out on the waters of Dividing, Prentice and Jarvis Creeks twice a month beginning April 14th.
VA DEQ AND ALLIANCE FOR CHESAPEAKE BAY On March 28, 2008 VA DEQ Liaison Director James Beckley, and Alliance for Chesapeake Bay Program Coordinator Laurel Woodworth, with help from Fay Andrashko from the Northern Neck Soil and Water Conservation District conducted our first training session.
James Beckley, pH Sample Reading
Thirteen association members are now trained and qualified to take and process water samples for E.coli bacteria (coli form), pH, Dissolved Oxygen, Turbidity (Water Clarity), Salinity and Temperature. Thanks to the generosity of VA DEQ and the Alliance for Chesapeake Bay the Dividing Creek Association's Water Quality Monitoring Group now has the testing equipment to monitor for Fiscal Year 2008. In addition we were provided the monitoring chemicals and materials to hopefully be able to monitor until mid July.
James Beckley Dissolved Oxygen Sample
James Beckley, VA DEQ Calibrating the Refractometer
On April 9, 2008 the Dividing Creek Association, Water Quality Monitoring Group conducted their first formal organizational meeting. Four Teams of five monitors each were created and team leaders were selected. Each team was assigned a monitoring area with specific monitoring sites assigned. The sites will be monitored every two weeks throughout the monitoring season and only on the outgoing tide. Monitoring was begun the
week of April 14, 2008 and hopefully will be able to continue on a twice
monthly schedule until the end of
the monitoring season in early December. The sample results of the
association's monitoring are being inputted to the VA DEQ Data Base for study
by VA DEQ, EPA and other agencies to evaluate the quality of our waters and
make recommendations on what can be done to correct any problem areas that
might be found.
These forms of bacterial contamination in sufficient quantities would indicate a probable health problem in your creek water. In this case these e.coli colonies are likely caused by wildlife (ducks, geese, heron, osprey, deer, raccoon, muskrat and pets) in the area.
COMMON COLIFORM SAMPLE
ACTUAL SAMPLE In our first monitoring test at 14 locations on our
creeks no serious problems of any kind were noted. Overall the three creeks
we monitor Dividing, Prentice and Jarvis Creeks appear to be relatively
clean. We are having an interesting year as we compare the cooler
early spring waters with the hot mid-summer conditions and now as the water
cools. We have seen the E.coli cont increase as the water warmed and now
with the water cooling the E. coli has shown a marked decrease. Likewise the
Dissolved Oxygen content decreased as the water warmed and the Water
Temperature increased raising the Algae Count and Turbidity. It was observed
that the decreased Blue Crab population directly followed the decrease in
the Dissolved Oxygen Count of our waters. The fish population also followed
this phenomenon but to a lesser degree. With the water now cooling we have
observed the E. coli Count decrease, the Dissolved Oxygen Count increase and
the Turbidity decrease as the suspended algae in the water dies off. If you see one of our monitoring teams on the water and are interested in what they are doing you are invited to stop by and observe. We will continue to monitor thru Mid December weather permitting. We plan to resume or monitoring activities in Early April. With the completion of the 2008 Water Monitoring Season we have established a Baseline that will be available for use by Water Monitoring Groups, (US EPA, VA DEQ, Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Alliance for Chesapeake Bay, DCA Water Quality Monitoring Group) on these waters for years to come. Our monitoring plans for 2009 include the upgrading of our monitoring procedures from the Chemical/Visual Comparison Methods of determining water quality to new more accurate Digital Monitoring Meters. These meters will speed up our monitoring times, enable us to monitor more areas, give us more accurate data, and in the long run reduce our monitoring costs.
If you are interested in what is in your water or your neighbors water and wish to do some monitoring yourself as part of one of our teams please call either of the Water Quality Monitoring Chairmen. Rea Hinch Project Manager at 804-435-7484 or Skip Kramb Quality
Analyst at 804-435-0697.
To view our Dividing Creek Association, Water Quality Monitoring Group data for 2008 and 2009 it is located on the Official Virginia Departnent of Environmental Quality Web Site. To view the DCA Data follow the instructions below. ACCESSING THE VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY CITIZEN VOLUNTEER WATER QUALITY MONITORING NON-AGENCY DATABASE
DATABASE ACCESS PROCEDURES
ENTER: http://www.deq.virginia.gov/cmonitor on the URL Line of your Internet Browser. (Opens VA-DEQ Home Page) CLICK: DEQ Non-Agency Database (opens Virginia Volunteer/Non-Agency Monitoring Data page) CLICK: Select criteria to see a list of monitoring sites (opens Site Filter Settings box) CLICK: The Down Arrow next to No Group Specified (opens a dropdown box
listing the 38 Volunteer Monitoring Groups CLICK: Dividing Creek Association from
the drop down list. (you may also view other CLICK: Change (Box) (This displays two Dropdown Boxes. The TOP Box entitled
Dividing Creek Association The BOTTOM Box entitled Reports Is a
list of options which determines what you wish to view for a
CLICK: Any site you wish to view from the FIRST BOX
CLICK: Second Box REPORTS Selections: The 1st, 2nd or 4th
line selection to view Information regarding the site
TO EXIT ANY PAGE IN THE DATABASE AND/OR MOVE BACK ONE PAGE IN
Any time
you wish to back out of a selection or a screen simply click on the Left 1st line
selection presents summarized listing of site data in a line by CLICK: (details) To view line by line collected monitoring data. 2nd line
presents a Map Presentation of the Site Location with a Red
CLICK: The Red Arrow to present data on the physical location . HINT: Use the
ZOOM BAR to view the exact location of 4th line in
the Reports Box presents a line by line full report of the Good for comparing
Month to Month and Year to Year 3rd line
presents a map of the entire DCA Monitoring Area with Red Use the ZOOM BAR to
better view the entire DCA The remaining Selections are a work
in progress by VA-DEQ and may or CLICK: GO Box located under the REPORT BOX
after making your Report Selection.
TO EXIT ANY PAGE IN THE DATABASE Any time you wish to back out of a selection or a
screen To EXIT the Database Simply CLICK
on your HOME ICON to exit to your Browser REMEMBER Environmental engineers, scientists, analysts from various Federal, State and Private agencies college and university study groups along with numerous advocacy groups are all utilizing the data that we along with over 40 other citizen volunteers across the state collect and enter into the VA-DEQ Database. The data from this database along with data from many like groups within the Chesapeake Bay Watershed is being utilized in an effort to determine the most effective means to prevent further degradation to the Chesapeake Bay waters and in the long run what it will require to clean up the bay.
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