Spend 30 minutes at your favorite waterway with a handful of materials and our downloadable instruction sheet. Leave knowing what’s in your water.
Our easy-to-follow instructions will help you test dissolved oxygen, pH, chloride, phosphate, nitrate, transparency, and temperature. Along the way, you'll learn why these factors are important to stream health, and how they can be influenced by things like weather, geology, and human activity.
Each of the seven tests can be done independently, and any data that you collect is valuable. Choose the tests that you feel comfortable with! See a demonstration of all seven tests.
The Chemical Monitoring Manual will also help you to understand how to do the tests and how to use your results.
Before you go, print a copy of the instruction sheet. You'll also want a copy of the data form for recording your findings. To perform the tests, we recommend the equipment listed below, as well as a stopwatch or a watch with a second hand.
When you're done, please make your observations part of our nationwide water quality monitoring project by adding your data to the Clean Water Hub! This video shows you how.