Equipment

* Listed vendor has a $50 purchase minimum. 
** Listed vendor only conducts transactions to major organizations. See introduction paragraph on how to proceed.

Standard Core Water Quality Monitoring Equipment

 Standard Core monitoring involves performing tests for parameters such as conductivity/salinity, dissolved oxygen, pH, total depth, water and air temperature, and water transparency using a chemical Standard Core kit. In addition to these parameters, Standard Core citizen scientists also conduct various field observations.

Standard Core Monitoring Supplies

The supplies listed in the table below are necessary for starting your monitoring program. Please note, buckets, DI bottles, waste containers, goggles, and gloves can be upcycled or purchased from the vendor of your choice.

The conductivity meter should be calibrated to a value closest to the observed values in the water body you will be monitoring. If purchasing conductivity standard, please note the 600 µS conductivity standard only works with the older, beige conductivity meters. If you have a gray PocketTester Conductivity Meter, you will need to use the 84 µS, 1413µS, or 12880 µS conductivity standard, depending on what value is typically observed at your monitoring site(s). If you need assistance determining what conductivity standard you should purchase, please reach out to Texas Stream Team. 

* The Standard Core Kit must be purchased by calling LaMotte directly.

** If use of the Secchi Disk is impractical due to the water body being too shallow or flowing too swiftly, a transparency tube may be used instead of the Secchi Disk.

*** Read the paragraph above for guidance on which conductivity standard solution to purchase.

**** A refractometer should be used instead of the conductivity meter in areas with higher salinity.

*Read through the paragraph above for guidance on which conductivity standard solution to purchase.

Standard Core Monitoring Replacement Equipment and Supplies

Equipment and supplies may become lost or broken. The table below includes items in the Standard Core monitoring kit that may need replacing.

Probe Core Water Quality Monitoring Equipment

 monitoring involves performing tests to measure parameters such as conductivity/salinity, dissolved oxygen, pH, total depth, water and air temperature, and water transparency using a Probe Core kit. The parameters measured in the Probe Core training are the same parameters measured in the Standard Core training, however, Probe Core monitors use digital meters as opposed to chemical tests. Probe Core citizen scientists also measure the same field observations that are measured by Standard Core citizen scientists.

Probe Core Monitoring Equipment and Supplies

The supplies listed in the table below are necessary for starting your monitoring program. Please note, buckets, DI bottles, waste containers, goggles, and gloves can be upcycled or purchased from the vendor of your choice.

The conductivity meter should be calibrated to a value closest to the observed values in the water body you will be monitoring. If purchasing conductivity standard, please note the 600 µS conductivity standard only works with the older, beige conductivity meters. If you have a gray PocketTester Conductivity Meter, you will need to use the 84 µS, 1413µS, or 12880 µS conductivity standard, depending on what value is typically observed at your monitoring site(s). If you need assistance determining what conductivity standard you should purchase, please reach out to Texas Stream Team. 

*If use of the Secchi Disk is impractical due to the water body being too shallow or flowing too swiftly, a transparency tube may be used instead of the Secchi Disk.

**Distilled water may be used if DI water is not available.

***Read through the paragraph above for guidance on which conductivity standard solution to purchase.

****Only 1 pH solution is needed. Select the pH value that is closest to the value of your monitoring site.

*****A refractometer should be used instead of the conductivity meter in areas with higher salinity.

Probe Core Monitoring Replacement Reagents

The Probe Core water quality monitoring kit will need to be restocked as solutions are depleted or expire. The table below includes prices for replacement solutions.

*Distilled water may be used if DI water is not available.

**Read through the paragraph above for guidance on which conductivity standard solution to purchase.

***Only one pH solution is needed. Select the pH value that is closest to the value of your monitoring site.

Probe Core Monitoring Replacement Equipment and Supplies

Equipment and supplies may become lost or broken. The table below includes items in the Probe Core water quality monitoring kit that may need replacing.

E. coli Bacteria Monitoring Equipment

E. coli Bacteria monitoring involves performing tests for E. coli bacteria that can be performed at the same sampling time and location as monthly Core monitoring. E. coli is measured to determine the relative risk of swimming (contact recreation) in a water body. E. coli is a bacterium that originates from the wastes of warm-blooded animals. The presence of bacteria indicates that associated pathogens from waste may be reaching a body of water. Sources of E. coli include inadequately treated sewage, improperly managed animal waste from livestock, pets, aquatic birds and wildlife, or failing septic systems.

E. coli Bacteria Monitoring Supplies

The supplies listed in the table below are necessary for starting your monitoring program. Please note, buckets, DI bottles, waste containers, goggles, and gloves can be upcycled or purchased from the vendor of your choice.

*Monitors can choose to use the LaMotte MacroLens or a standard magnifying glass depending on their personal preference

**Not required

E. coli Bacteria Monitoring Replacement Reagents

The reagents used to monitor E. coli bacteria will need to be restocked as they are depleted or expire. The table below includes prices for replacement reagents.

E. coli Bacteria Monitoring Replacement Equipment and Supplies

Equipment and supplies may become lost, broken, or depleted. The table below includes items used for E. coli bacteria monitoring that may need replacing.

*Monitors can choose to use the LaMotte Macro Lens or the standard magnifying glass depending on their personal preference.

Advanced Water Quality Monitoring Equipment

 involves performing tests on sample water to measure nitrate-nitrogen, orthophosphate, turbidity, and streamflow. Advanced monitoring through Texas Stream Team must be conducted with the following equipment and supplies. Please consider the quantity of each product in regard to the total cost.

Advanced Monitoring Supplies

The supplies listed in the table below are necessary for starting your monitoring program. Please note, buckets, DI bottles, waste containers, goggles, and gloves can be upcycled or purchased from the vendor of your choice.

* Please note, the Advanced Kit must be purchased by calling LaMotte directly. Additionally, this item is the only item required to be purchased by a specific vendor for this training.

Advanced Monitoring Replacement Reagents

Advanced monitoring kit will need to be restocked as reagents are depleted or expire. The table below includes prices for replacement reagents.

Advanced Monitoring Replacement Equipment and Supplies

Equipment and supplies may become lost or broken. The table below includes items in the Advanced monitoring kit that may need replacing.

Riparian Evaluation Monitoring Equipment

Riparian Biomonitors assess the health of lakes, rivers, streams, or estuaries based on the quality of the riparian habitat. Riparian indicators are used to track ecosystem and habitat health over time in the rivers and streams that flow to the Texas Gulf Coast.

Riparian Evaluation Monitoring does not require any starting supplies. However, you may find it useful to have a personal copy of the Remarkable Riparian Field Guidebook Set listed below.

Macroinvertebrate Bioassessment Monitoring Equipment

Macroinvertebrate Biomonitors assess the health of lakes, rivers, streams or estuaries based on the aquatic insects that live there. Data are coupled with water quality data and used to track ecosystem and habitat health over time in the rivers and streams that flow to the Texas Gulf Coast.

Macroinvertebrate Bioassessment Equipment and Supplies

Please note, the equipment and supplies listed below can be purchased from any vendor or store. We strongly encourage upcycling where possible.

*Monitors can choose to use the LaMotte MacroLens or a standard magnifying glass depending on their personal preference

Macroinvertebrate Bioassessment Replacement Equipment and Supplies

Equipment and supplies may become lost or broken. The table below includes items used for Macroinvertebrate Bioassessment monitoring that may need replacing.

*Monitors can choose to use the LaMotte MacroLens or a standard magnifying glass depending on their personal preference