The South Florida Water Management District’s Governing Board recently voted to substantially increase the amount of water quality monitoring that’s conducted in the Northern Everglades watersheds, and in Lake Okeechobee and the Caloosahatchee River. The board voted unanimously to increase the number of monitoring stations from 161 to 243, and increase the frequency of sampling from monthly to twice a month.
It also voted to expand the parameters of what water quality indicators district scientists will be measuring, including tracking nitrogen at sites where it was not previously collected, and tracking water temperature and dissolved oxygen.
In Lake Okeechobee, the district will add 11 new monitoring stations, and increase the frequency of sampling – and start testing for things like algal blooms. In the Caloosahatchee Estuary, the district is going to add 15 new monitoring sites that will also sample twice a month for a wide variety of water quality indicators.
We discuss the changes with Chauncey Goss, chairman of the Governing Board. And we get some insight into how the testing is conducted from Lawrence Glenn, he is Director of the Water Resources Division at the South Florida Water Management District.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVNqBPBu-e0&feature=youtu.be
