By CATHERINE WOLDEN
Q: What is water quality and why is it important?
A: Water quality is a description of the chemical, physical and biological condition of water and is often explained in terms of how suitable the water is for a specific purpose like drinking, recreation or support of wildlife. The quality of our water is important because it has a direct impact on people and the environment.
Q: Why does the District monitor water quality?
A: The District’s Water Quality Monitoring Program, or WQMP, provides critical data to anyone making decisions about protecting, managing and restoring water resources within our region. The District maintains an extensive water quality data collection and analysis program with more than 950 active stations across our 16-county region. District scientists collect samples from surface water bodies like lakes, nearshore estuarine areas, rivers and from groundwater systems like springs and wells.
Q: What does the District look for in water quality monitoring?
A: The District assesses the quality of water in several ways. In the field, scientists record measurements such as water temperature, dissolved oxygen concentrations, pH, the concentration of ions in the water (specific conductance) and the amount of material suspended in the water (turbidity). More complex measurements for nutrients and saltwater indicators are measured in a laboratory.
Q: How often do District staff visit the monitoring locations?
A: It depends on the type of water or waterbody and the purpose of the monitoring project. District staff take water samples more frequently (sometimes hourly) in streams or rivers since the flow is constantly changing the conditions in the water. For groundwater resources, like an aquifer, it’s unusual to see rapid changes in water quality so those locations may only be monitored once a year.
Q: How much data does the District collect every year?
A: Each year, District staff collect approximately 2,700 water quality samples and perform more than 56,000 individual laboratory analyses. This work is supported by an annual budget of about $1.9 million and produces high quality, scientifically defensible data to guide resource management decisions.
Q: What does the District do with the collected water quality data?
A: The District and its partners use the data to help make decisions about protecting, managing and restoring water resources within our region. Data collected support studies of ongoing issues like saltwater intrusion, impacts to aquifers in our region, and evaluation of minimum flows and levels for our springs and surface waterbodies.
Q: How can the public access the District’s water quality data?
A: Data collected by the District, including water quality data, can be accessed and downloaded from our Environmental Data Portal (EDP) at Water-Matters.org/edp.
Catherine Wolden is the Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Water Quality Monitoring Program Manager. A native of Florida, she earned a bachelor’s degree in environmental science and policy from the University of South Florida and has spent her entire 25-year career in various roles in the District’s Water Quality Monitoring Program.
