1. Adopt-A-Stream
Physical/Chemical Training
Georgia Adopt-A-Stream
4220 International Parkway
Suite 101
Atlanta, Georgia 30354
www.GeorgiaAdoptAStream.com
404.675.6240

2. Georgia Adopt-A-Stream
 What is it?
 Georgia’s volunteer water quality monitoring
program
 Program Goals
 To increase public awareness about water quality &
nonpoint source pollution
 To give citizens the tools & training to protect their
watershed
 To encourage partnerships between citizens & local
government
 To collect quality baseline water quality data

3. Quality Assurance Project Plan
 Quality
Assurance
Quality Control
(QAQC)
 Only individuals
are certified
 Certification is
valid for one year

4. To Maintain QA/QC Status,
Volunteers Must …
Volunteers’ methods and test kits must achieve results within 10%
of those obtained by trainer
Must sample at least monthly for one year and send the results to
GA AAS
In the field, monitors must take two samples.
These samples must be within 10% of each other.
If they are not within 10%, take another sample until two
samples are within 10%.
Reagents should be replaced annually

5. What is a Watershed?
• A watershed is a system.
• It is the land area from which water, sediment,
and dissolved materials drain to a common point
along a stream, wetland, lake or river.
• For each watershed, there is a drainage system that
conveys rainfall to its outlet.
• Its boundaries are marked by the highest points of
land around the waterbody.

6. What Watershed are You in?

7. Physical/Chemical Monitoring
 Physical/Chemical testing allows information to be
gathered about specific water quality characteristics
 Adopt-A-Stream recommends that at least four core
measurements be taken:
 Temperature
 pH
 Dissolved Oxygen
Adopt-A-Stream offers a separate bacteria monitoring
certification workshop

8. When and How Often?
 Because water quality conditions change
on a daily basis, plan to sample regularly.
 At least once a month
 Same time and location
 Record weather conditions

9. Recommendations on Where and
How to Collect Samples
 Measure air and water temperature
in the shade, avoid sunlight
 For an ideal stream location, take samples
mid-stream and mid-depth
 Rinse glass tubes or containers twice
with stream water before running test

10. TEMPERATURE
 Should be measured in the shade, away from direct
sunlight. Air temperature should be taken before
water temperature.
 Temperature relates directly to dissolved oxygen
levels. The higher the temperature, the less
oxygen the water can hold. Also, life adapts to a
narrow range of temperatures. Changes of only a few
degrees can affect the life in a stream.
 Temperature affects feeding, respiration, and
aquatic metabolism.

11. DISSOLVED OXYGEN
Needed for respiration for all aquatic life
State Standards for DO levels:
Average of 5 mg/L (or ppm) for Georgia
streams and a minimum of 4 mg/L
Average of 6 mg/L (or ppm) for trout
streams and a minimum of 5 mg/L
Inversely related to temperature:
 As temperature increases, DO decreases
 As temperature decreases, DO increases

12. DISSOLVED OXYGEN
 DO levels may increase due to
 diffusion from the atmosphere,
 plant metabolism as a waste product of photosynthesis
 turbulent mixing (riffles)
 DO levels may decrease due to
 warm temperatures
 an overload of decaying organic matter (due to excess
nutrients)
 slow moving, deep water

13. pH
 A measure of hydrogen ions (H+); aquatic
organisms are sensitive to pH fluctuations
 0-14 scale; pure water has equal amount of H+ and
OH- ions and has a pH of 7
 Expected range in Georgia: 6-8
 Some South Georgia waters may have pH as low
as 3.5

14. pH values of some common substances:
0.0 7.0 14.0
0.5 5.9 8.0 11.2
battery acid rainwater salt water ammonia
2.0 7.0
12.9
distilled water
lemon juice bleach
Do you think that Aquatic Insects & Fish
like to live in battery acid or bleach?

15. Where Do I Submit My Data?
• Data should be submitted to the state’s online
database: www.GeorgiaAdoptAStream.org
• Share your data with partners, local
governments and your local Adopt-A-Stream
coordinators

16. Who Might Use My Data?
Local water departments, planners, or city councils
Colleges, universities, and technical schools use data
in reports
Forestry services and environmental groups will use it
for analyzing the equality of life in that area as well as a
reference for future studies
Consulting agencies, local and state government

17. Just the Facts
•Raise awareness ppm or mg/L Once a month
•Provide tools and training
Dissolved
•Encourage partnerships mid-stream,
Oxygen
•Water quality data (temp., DO) mid-depth
Data – on-line database, local program, city & county pH 6-8
government & municipality, partners, county
commissioners, universities, others? As low as 3.5
Conductivity Temperature – importance of,
The ability of water to carry a current. where to measure…
Is affected by mining, agriculture, sewage effluent,
urban runoff.
Excess Organic
Matter
Dissolved Oxygen Higher DO in Causes a decrease in
• not lower than 4 with the winter dissolved oxygen
an average of at least months levels
5 mg/L or ppm