Photo credit: Rick McEwan
Photos, left to right: Collecting grab sample (Photo credit: TNC), lab analysis (Photo credit: Rick McEwan), multiprobe (Photo credit: TNC)Beginning in 2007, following the first major levee breaches, The Nature Conservancy began monitoring water quality across the re-inundated 3,500 acres. Through 2012, we documented the effects of the restoration on the surface water chemistry, within and surrounding the delta. We implemented two sampling methods to investigate any changes in water quality. Bi-weekly grab sampling and subsequent laboratory analysis was performed from March through November each year to examine nitrogen, phosphorous and carbon constituents. Continuous multi-probe monitoring was utilized to collect hourly data during the same time period as grab sampling, including water temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH, and specific conductance.
This data is essential in analyzing the effectiveness of the wide-ranging efforts by multiple agencies and organizations in the Upper Klamath Basin to restore and manage wetlands. Overall, the monitoring program revealed positive trends in the delta’s water quality since restoration.
For more information on the water quality monitoring program, the full reports are available here. Also check out our phosphorus reduction fact sheet!
