Sampling Water Quality Monitoring and Human Health
Chapter 3 | Sampling
Monitoring primarily consists of sampling and laboratory analysis. Sampling in and of itself is not difficult in many cases. There are straightforward, simple steps called protocols that you must learn to follow. Once you’ve learned them, plan a review of methods and training all volunteers in an inside setting for a dry run. A dry run is important because people do make mistakes and the last thing you want is to have to re-sample after learning that someone improperly collected a sample for which you’ve already paid several hundred dollars for analysis (a professional lab will often send you sample containers after you pay up front for the analysis; sometimes they contain preservatives and can’t be re-used).
Courtesy of USGS Courtesy of U.S. Air Force Tap Water Sampling
Sampling water from your tap is the simplest way to test the quality of your drinking water. The basic procedure recommended for sampling water from a tap may seem somewhat wasteful, but is important to ensure an accurate sample. Assuming that your goal is to sample the source of your drinking water and not simply the quality of water in your pipes, you should let the water run for about 10 minutes before filling up a sampling bottle. This clears all of the water that has been sitting in your pipes. That water may have impurities or contaminants that come from your pipes themselves, not the source water. In some instances however, you may want to sample the water in your pipes (for example, if you’re trying to
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Most sampling routines involve not much more than a healthy dose of common sense. You need to avoid contaminating your sampling containers by keeping their caps on until you’re ready to sample, not putting your finger in them, and not sneezing into them! Professional labs will provide you with the requisite instructions for taking samples. River Network is an excellent source of information. The following is meant as an overview.
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