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Costs and Responsibilities
Our
Lakes Monitoring
Program is catered to groups that are active in lake stewardship.
Examples of groups that participate in our program are: lake associations, Coalition
of Lake Associations, Lake Improvement Districts, Watershed Districts, Soil and
Water Conservation Districts, and State and Federal government agencies.
Currently, over
500 lakes are scheduled to participate
in this
program.
When a lake association joins, a volunteer(s) from the group is trained
to collect water samples and
Secchi Disk readings. On-site training is available for groups of 10 or more lakes.
A sampling schedule is determined per client. Typically, once a month (5 or 6 events/summer) the volunteer is sent sampling
and shipping supplies. Following collection,
the water samples are shipped to our laboratory for Total Phosphorus and
Chlorophyll-a analysis. Our
staff then enters the data into our
Lakes Monitoring
Database
where it is available online to the public for viewing and assessment.
Price Includes
- Quality laboratory analysis of Total Phosphorus and Chlorophyll-a (MN Dept. of Health Certified: #027-005-336)
- Online data storage, tracking, analysis and reporting
- Submission of data to STORET (MN state database) at the end of the monitoring season
- Training of sample volunteer(s)
- Instructions and documentation
- Sampling bottles and preservatives
- Coolers and supplies*
*The shipment of coolers and supplies from
our lab to the volunteer monitor is covered in the costs; the cost for the volunteer
monitor to ship the samples back to the lab is not included and is the responsibility
of the volunteer monitor. Equipment not included in the price of this program
include a
Secchi disk and a
2-meter integrated sampler.
Secchi disks can be obtained for free from the MPCA by contacting the CLMP program
(CLMP@pca.state.mn.us,
800-657-3864) or visiting
http://www.pca.state.mn.us/water/clmp.html.
To
order a 2-meter integrated sampler, contact Moriya Rufer (218-846-1465,
lakes.rmbel@eot.com). The cost of the 2-meter integrated sampler is $30,
which includes tax and shipping. The
reason why this equipment is not included in the price of the monitoring program
is that this equipment becomes the property of the client, who is responsible for
maintenance and care.
All other supplies are the property of RMB Environmental and are returned
at the end of the summer for off-season storage.
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