Water Quality Monitoring
Beginning late spring and through to early fall, SAWIG staff completes weekly water quality monitoring in the Stratford Area using both field and laboratory analyses. We collect samples for total suspended solids (TSS) and total nitrogen (TN)/total phosphorus (TP) to send to the PEI Analytical Lab on a regular basis. In addition, we conduct weekly general chemistry parameter testing of sampling locations in the Stratford Area.
To complement our weekly sampling we have five logging devices including four streams with HOBO Tidbits deployed from spring to early winter which measure water temperature every half an hour and a HOBO dissolved oxygen and temperature logger in Kelly’s Pond and/or Jordan's Pond.
Additionally, during periods of heavy rain we collect information about water quality in areas adjacent to development sites and downstream from development sites to monitor run off.
Map showing the locations of our monitoring sites. Purple indicates weekly water quality monitoring sites, teal indicates TSS sampling sites, and red indicates sites sampled during both TSS and water quality sampling days.
Data collected during monitoring is entered into an MS Excel spreadsheet and uploaded to Atlantic DataStream.
Atlantic DataStream is an open access platform for sharing information on freshwater health. SAWIG has uploaded its water quality data to the platform for many years, dating back to August 11, 2016. The site allows users to access, visualize, and download full water quality datasets. Data is collected from groups in New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. This database is a great way for SAWIG to keep track of and compare information about each of our streams and ponds.
Example of the data visualization available using Atlantic DataStream