The Veins of Life Watershed
Society has recently been contracted to install and operate
an Automated Water Quality Monitoring Station (AWQMS) on the
Sooke River (Fig. 1). An AWQMS (Fig.2) is an effective method
of providing continuous water quality tests of a specific
area within a watershed undergoing development. The Sooke
station also functions as a demonstration station used for
educational purposes.
Figure 2 - The Sooke River AWQMS
In order to provide accurate
data, the station is equipped with water quality testing probes
called sondes, a data logging system, and a battery. The sondes
(Fig. 3) measure a variety of water quality variables such
as pH, temperature, turbidity, conductivity, and dissolved
oxygen as well as the water level. The data logging system
stores the information 24 hours a day and can be accessed
either by downloading into a lap top computer or received
directly in the office using telemetry. To ensure the
accuracy of the water quality measurments, water samples are
taken and assessed in labs and cross referenced with both
the readings off the sondes and readings from portable water
quality meters.
Figure 3 - The water quality monitoring sondes
