From March 22 to December 31, volunteers from around the world will participate in World Water Monitoring Day (WWMD). Anyone with an interest in water quality is encouraged to participate. The event centers on testing four key water quality parameters: temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH, and turbidity.
The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality is distributing free WWMD kits. Each kit can perform up to 50 tests for dissolved oxygen, pH, turbidity, and temperature. Usually one kit is enough to monitor at several locations. For teacher requests, one kit is sufficient per classroom. Because quantities are limited, please request only the number of kits you are sure that you will use. There is no charge for the water monitoring kits.
To order kits, please contact Mr. Stuart Torbeck by e-mail at charles.torbeck@deq.virginia.gov. Please provide your complete mailing address, as well as the number of kits you would like to receive.
This year, the following organizations have donated monitoring kits
- Virginia Water Monitoring Council – http://www.VirginiaWMC.org
- United States Geological Survey Virginia Water Science Center – http://va.water.usgs.gov.
Participants can register and enter their data online by going to http://www.worldwatermonitoringday.org. To learn more about World Water Monitoring Day events occurring in Virginia, please visit the website http://va.water.usgs.gov/wqday_10/intro.htm.