General Guidelines and Standards for Surfacewater , Lake, Pond, Stream, Groundwater and
Watershed Monitoring Programs

General Guidance for Educational and Applied Research

Stream Flow and Real-Time Water Quality Monitoring  QC/QA Programs

Stream Assessments, Biological Monitoring, Remote Data Logging

TMr. Brian Oram is a licensed professional geologist and soil scientist with over 20 years experience in applied earth and environmental sciences.  Mr. Oram has conducted research and consulting projects related to acid mine drainage ( AMD ), mine drainage, lake and stream monitoring programs, wetland creation and monitoring, filtration plant performance evaluations, testing new point of use water treatment devices and systems, hydrogeological evaluations, geological investigations, soils testing, soil morphological evaluations, water well drilling and construction, drinking water testing, mail order water testing kit program, and land reclamation. Mr. Oram has also been involved with Citizen Monitoring and other Environmental Training Programs for groups within the United States, Europe, and even the former Soviet Union.

Surfacewater Monitoring

Note on Dissolved Oxygen:

Environmental Effects: The introduction of excess organic matter or soluble organic materials may result in a depletion of oxygen from an aquatic system through chemical or biological oxygen consumption or demand. Exposure to low dissolved oxygen levels (<5 - 6 mg/l ) may not directly kill an organism, but will increase its susceptibility to other environmental stresses. Exposure to < 30% saturation (<2 mg/l oxygen) for one to four days may kill most of the biota in a system. If oxygen-requiring organisms perish, the remaining organisms will be air-breathing insects and anaerobic (not requiring oxygen) bacteria.

Recreation: If all oxygen is depleted, aerobic decomposition ceases and organic decomposition or processing is accomplished through anaerobic reactions. Anaerobic microbes obtain energy from oxygen bound to other molecules such as sulfate compounds and can result in the mobilization of many otherwise insoluble compounds, such as Acid Mine Drainage. The breakdown of sulfate compounds will often impart a "rotten-egg" smell to the water, affecting its aesthetic value and preventing recreational use.

Warm Water Fish: Prefer water temperatures ranging between 18-29 degrees C (65-85 degrees F); includes fish such as smallmouth bass, largemouth bass, and bluegill. 

Cold Water Fish: Fish such as trout and salmon; preferred water temperature ranges between 7-18 degrees C (45-65 degrees F); coolwater fish, such as striped bass, northern pike, and walleye, have a range between that of coldwater and warmwater fish. 

Note on pH:

Environmental Effects: A reduction in pH (more acidic) may allow the release of toxic metals that would otherwise be sorbed to sediment can become liberated into overlying water.  Once mobilized, these metals are available for uptake by organisms and is related to the rate of biological activity and level of the pollutant in the environment.  Metal uptake can cause extreme physiological damage to aquatic life.  Aluminum concentrations of 0.1 - 0.3 mg/l will increase mortality, retard growth, gonadal development, and egg production of fish. Even if the aluminum availability is low, recent studies have shown that acidity alone may cause mortality in developing brook trout.

Acidification of the aquatic system can shift the biological community to one that is less desirable from a recreation and aesthetic uses, reduce decomposition rates and nutrient cycling, reduce the variety and distribution of the biological organisms that create a health ecosystem, and make other compounds like ammonia and trace metals per toxic..

More on Turbidity

Environmental Effects: Turbidity is not commonly used to evaluate surface water quality.  Turbidity is basically a measure of the amount of light intercepted by a given volume of water due to the presence of suspended and dissolved matter and microscopic biota. Increasing the turbidity of the water decreases the amount of light that penetrates the water column, which can then causes changes in the aquatic ecosystem. 

These changes could include result in a reduction in photosynthetic activity of phytoplankton, algae, and macrophytes, which would reduce the primary productivity of the system and may result in causing less favorable Cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) to become established.  Turbidity can also result in the reduce of dissolved oxygen, destroying the habitat of macroinvertebrates, and cause gill damage/abrasion.

Macro Invertebrates

Online Key to Help Determine the Health of a stream
On-line Macroinvertebrates Key 

Monitoring  Information
EPA Volunteer Monitoring Website
Volunteer Monitoring Manual
Volunteer Stream Monitoring: A Methods Manual
Volunteer Estuary Monitoring: A Methods Manual 
Quality Control and Quality Assurance in Monitoring
Water Quality Assessment Tools
National Directory of Volunteer Monitoring Programs
Chlorophyll a, Microcystin Analysis

USGS Data

Pennsylvania Current and Historical Water Data Online 

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