WATER MONITORING AND ANALYSIS

Water monitoring is vital to determine water quality and quantity which is central to the integrity of the environment.  It is essential to our agricultural enterprises, even to our ability to ensure we have sufficient drinking water to supply our needs. The focus on our water resources is often on the volume of water available for particular purposes. However, water quality determines the suitability of water for a particular purpose.

Water quality is the physical, chemical and biological characteristics of water and environmental water quality relates to water bodies such as lakes, rivers and oceans. Water quality standards for surface waters vary significantly due to different environmental conditions, ecosystems and intended human uses.

Water quality is a very complex subject because water is a complex medium intrinsically tied to the ecology of the Earth. Industrial and commercial activity is a major case of water pollution, as well as runoff from agricultural areas, urban stormwater runoff and discharge of treated and untreated sewage.

Standards regulate substances that potentially affect human health, ecosystems, wildlife and endangered species.  In the setting of these standards agencies make political and technical/scientific decisions about how the water will be used. Different uses raise different concerns and therefore different standards are considered.