Attention DO & Temp Lake Monitors:
Is your DO meter in need of a check-up?
If you think your Dissolved Oxygen (DO) meter would benefit from an annual checkup, consider bringing or sending it to the Lake Stewards of Maine’s (LSM) Annual “Meterfest”. Once a year in April, LSM and Maine DEP staff offer volunteer lake monitors the opportunity of a FREE checkup of their equipment.
We will check the functionality and accuracy of your meter, perform routine maintenance, if necessary, diagnose and resolve minor problems, and provide you with a report of our findings.
WHERE: If you would like to have your meter, cable and probe checked, you must either mail or drop-off your meter at the LSM offices in Auburn, or at the Maine DEP in Augusta. In either case, you must first contact us by email or phone and let us know that the equipment is coming, so that we can be sure that someone will be available to receive it. Addresses and contact information for both locations are provided in the required checklist, linked below.
WHEN: Meters need to be at the LSM or Maine DEP no later than April 10, 2018. DO meters will be available for pick-up April 23rd.
YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES: We will be happy to check your DO meter, providing that you do all of the following:
• FILL OUT THIS FORM AND INCLUDE IT WITH YOUR METER
• If you plan to mail the equipment, be sure to contact us in advance
• Mailed equipment must be carefully packed, and insurance is strongly recommended. If you want us to mail the equipment back to you, please provide return postage. In many cases, we are able to deliver the equipment to an agency office relatively close to you. Pick-ups are preferred to mailing.
• VERY IMPORTANT: Please be sure to include fresh batteries, membranes and electrolyte that are compatible with your meter model.
• If you have experienced problems with your equipment, please include a written description of the issue(s).
• If we feel that the equipment requires a “field check” we will contact you about the possibility of keeping the unit after the lab check.
• If we determine that your equipment has a problem that we are unable to resolve, we will contact you with recommendations.
Please contact us if you have questions concerning this opportunity to ensure that your DO monitoring equipment is in “top shape” for the 2018 lake monitoring season.
D.O./Temp. Water Quality Monitor Forms & Procedures
Dissolved Oxygen/Temperature water quality monitors receive training to become certified and follow strict protocols, ensuring the quality and high value of the data they collect. Below are instructions and field sheets used by Dissolved Oxygen monitors.
Each spring as a volunteer you receive a packet with new field sheets, mailing instructions and personalized information, including your Secchi Simulator login.
Instructions for DO Monitors
Dissolved Oxygen Meter Guidelines
The following table is to be used by volunteer lake monitors who measure temperature and dissolved oxygen (DO) levels in their lakes. This information is supplemental to material presented during DO training and certification workshops, as well as instructions for the calibration and operation of individual dissolved oxygen meters.
Maximum Dissolved Oxygen Concentration Saturation Table
Instructions for measuring Secchi Disk Transparency
Instructions for Total Phosphorus Sampling
Is your Secchi reading less than 2.5m? Call it in to LSM at 207-783-7733. Please include your name, lake and date of the reading.
Field Sheets
Notice Do Not Print Field Sheets on Inkjet Printers. Field sheets must be completed in the boat at the time of your readings. There is a good chance your forms will get wet and inkjet printing runs when wet. Please use a laser printer or contact the LSM office and we will gladly mail you extra data forms.
Dissolved Oxygen Form Instructions
Additional Resources
Water Quality and Invasive Plant Patrol Workshops
Annual re-certification is now required on the Secchi Simulator. Your login should be included in your spring packet or contact the LSM office 783-7733.
Presentation Slides from the New Monitor training workshop
Graphing Secchi Disk Transparency Instructions (pdf)
Quality Assurance Project Plan (pdf 150k). The QAPP (“Quality Assurance Project Plan”) is a guide for proper procedures for lake water quality monitoring by volunteers in the LSM. This plan has been reviewed and approved by the U.S. EPA, and describes the LSM structure and how we assure that quality data are gathered. It can serve as an example of how a formal Quality Assurance Plan should be constructed.
