Screening and Baseline Monitoring

The most flexible and convenient type of monitoring, as well as the most popular, is our Screening & Baseline monitoring. This type of monitoring requires volunteers to measure, observe, and record environmental information such as temperature, wind conditions, secchi disk depth, present wildlife, invasive species, and overall perception of the particular water body's condition. Monitoring occurs once or twice a month between April and September and volunteers may choose one or multiple sites, lake, stream, or wetland, wherever he or she would like. Obervations are recorded on provided data sheets and mailed to the Dakota Water Watch program director. Many volunteers choose to do this type of monitoring in conjunction with bacteria monitoring.