Sampling Methods & Equipment

Water Quality Monitoring Program

The Tribe's water quality monitoring program, under USEPAs Clean Water Act (CWA) §106 program, currently comprises two monitoring well sites in the wetlands located on Table Bluff Reservation. The Tribe also monitors sites that stretch from the Eel River estuary to Humboldt Bay including Humboldt Bay entrance, Indian Island, and Eel River estuary. The Tribe desires to incorporate these water quality monitoring sites into their existing program.

People taking water samples

Sampling

With the approval of the Tribe's Quality Assurance Program Plan (QAPP) and Monitoring Plan by the USEPA in 2003, the Natural Resources Department began collecting samples and amassing water quality data. The bulk of data collected in this program is collected in-situ with Yellow Springs Instruments 6600 EDS sondes, outfitted with probes that directly measure turbidity, temperature, pH, conductivity, depth, and dissolved oxygen (the sondes also extrapolate salinity). Discrete sampling consists of deploying a sonde for about 15 minutes; long-term sampling consists of deploying a sonde in a protective structure (a permanently fixed housing) for two-week periods during which the sonde logs sample data every 15 minutes.

Chemical & Bacteriological Sampling

For chemical and bacteriological sampling, several sample collection devices are used, depending on the specific parameter being tested. All sampling methods are described in the Wiyot Tribe's EPA-approved Quality Assurance Program Plan.