(Photo by Robert Barossi)

by Robert Barossi

While interviewing volunteers for my book, I came across many who worked as volunteer water quality monitors. They often impressed me with their stories of going to a spot along a river, repeatedly throughout the year, in any weather, to take samples of the water. Water sampling is an essential practice so that scientists can study and examine the water for pollutants, bacteria, pH levels, dissolved oxygen and other factors. This story out of Idaho, from the Bonner County Daily Bee, describes the water monitoring work of volunteers along Lake Pend Oreille, Idaho’s largest lake and one of the deepest in the U.S. Whether it’s in suburban Massachusetts, where I met volunteers, or in rural Idaho, the water monitoring work is very similar and the gathered data is equally important.

More information about the Lake Pend Oreille Waterkeeper, the organization behind the water quality monitoring.