The HRWC Chemistry and Flow Monitoring Program’s twenty-third season was a year of experimentation. Volunteers took on new roles and tested new protocols including a gear decontamination procedure and a water filtration protocol. We revisited Livingston County monitoring sites after three years off, and re-engaged interns in the monitoring program. The program trialed new equipment in our in-house laboratory for measuring bacteria samples. And we launched a new semi-real-time digital data viewer. As I’ve grown to know this year’s team of incredible volunteers, it was no surprise that new and returning participants happily embraced the changes and challenges of testing out new approaches.
Volunteers Tackle New Responsibilities to Get the Job Done
This monitoring season we welcomed 18 new participants, 17 returning volunteers, and 15 interns into the program. Collectively, they dedicated over 900 hours visiting 33 sites in Livingston, Washtenaw, and Wayne counties to evaluate water quality. Their efforts resulted in the collection of more than 720 water samples, 1800 in-stream multimeter chemistry records, and 900 velocity measurements.

Several returning volunteers (Larry Scheer, Debbie Litchi, Jeff Pu, Danny Maier, Kevin Guthrie, Ron Fadoir) and a returning intern (Alex Gonzalez) took on new leadership roles. Responsibilities ranged from training new participants, sending reminder emails, transporting equipment, aiding with laboratory analyses, and serving as the primary contact, driver, and navigator for outings. Many others also took on leadership tasks or supported monitoring in multiple counties. The overall dedication and enthusiasm of this year’s group resulted in another successful year of collecting critical data to track the water quality of the Huron River watershed and Downriver waterways.

Analyzing Bacteria in Our New Lab
Curious to visit unfamiliar sites, several return volunteers and many of our interns were eager to monitor in Livingston County this season. For the first time in this county, we routinely collected bacteria samples. HRWC acquired new laboratory equipment and tested and implemented the EPA-approved IDEXX Colilert method for analyzing bacteria in surface waters. In addition to collecting these extra samples, some participants opted to receive laboratory training to help with the bacteria analysis. This included Larry Scheer, an outstanding leader and our longest-serving volunteer of ten years (read more about Larry’s service to HRWC). The results of this bacteria monitoring have already helped to identify a few hot spots of bacterial contamination within the Huron River watershed that will guide our restoration and outreach efforts.

Testing for Phosphate
Our volunteers also collected additional water samples this season to evaluate another nutrient parameter at sites in Washtenaw County: phosphate. Phosphate is a type of phosphorus (a primary nutrient that supports algal growth like the harmful algal blooms in Ford and Belleville Lakes) that is easier for algae to use for growth than other phosphorus forms. Our program has monitored total phosphorus (all phosphorus forms combined) long term. Total phosphorus monitoring does not require physical processing before chemical analysis, while phosphate analysis requires water to be filtered.
This season our volunteers tested their strength using a syringe and filter (and maybe the help of a caulk gun) to collect 33 samples of filtered water from seven sites for phosphate analysis. We partnered with the Ann Arbor Water Treatment Plant to trial this method and adjusted our sampling strategy as we received results. We hope to further refine our sampling strategy in future years to better understand phosphorus inputs to Ford and Belleville lakes.
Thank you to all the volunteers for their dedication and their support of the Chemistry and Flow Monitoring Program!
Explore Our Data
Much of the data collected this season by our dedicated volunteers is live on our Chemistry Dashboard and real-time flow data is available on our Digital Water Lab page. For additional information about the Chemistry and Flow Monitoring Program and results visit our program webpage or read about the program history. If you are interested in volunteering in 2025, subscribe to our e-newsletter to stay in the loop on future opportunities.