Water security in Texas depends on water quality monitoring. At Texas Water Resources Institute (TWRI), watershed restoration projects require consistent water quality monitoring once every two weeks for two years. In the water security issue of txH2O, the article How does water quality monitoring work? gives a behind-the-scenes look.
To gain a thorough knowledge of real-time water quality, TWRI’s water team conducts water quality monitoring at several locations in a watershed. The process involves using sample collections, instream conditions, flow data and ambient conditions.
The results inform the monitoring team about areas that do not comply with the state’s water quality criteria. With this data and input from local stakeholders and state and federal agencies, a watershed protection plan and/or total maximum daily load are developed.
To read more about water quality monitoring or view a photo essay of TWRI’s monitoring process, read the full article.