By Justin Mansberger, Penn State Extension 

Regular water quality monitoring is a hugely important activity to ensure our bodies of water remain as healthy as possible.

The necessity of this continuous water quality testing was recognized by America’s Clean Water Foundation in 2003 when they established World Water Monitoring Day.

The global outreach program was initially created for October 18th, but it was moved earlier to allow for some countries to test their water before it freezes.

The current annual date for World Water Monitoring Day is September 18th.

Over the years, the worldwide event has grown greatly and currently has over one million people around the world testing their lakes, rivers, and streams. Participants use water testing kits to test their nearby water source for dissolved oxygen, acidity, temperature, and clarity.

The sponsorship of the event has changed in recent years to EarthEcho Water Challenge, but the goal and vision of the day has remained the same since creation.

World Water Monitoring Day has maintained a stable goal of getting the international outreach program to reach as many people as possible and educating the masses about the importance of water quality testing.

While World Water Monitoring Day may have just passed, it is never a bad opportunity to get out and test your local water source.

Regular water monitoring and testing can help to ensure our waterways maintain healthy conditions as well as help to evaluate and diagnose any issues in a body of water.

Testing is important to ensure the water is healthy for the public as well as suitable for aquatic life.

The first step to help do your part for this event or in general is to inspect your local water source. If you are on a private water supply, find out where your water is coming from and trace it back to the source.

Once the source is found, then you can perform various tests including acidity, temperature, clarity, and dissolved oxygen.

If you are on a public water supply, then you can reach out to your water supplier and ask them questions about their testing procedures.

In addition to testing your local source, the program encourages spreading awareness about the importance of water testing. One of the main goals is to raise awareness and encourage people of all ages to improve our water quality.

The importance of water quality testing does not end when World Water Monitoring Day is over. It is important to continue testing your local water source regularly and monitoring any changes in the results.

These regular water tests will help to identify any potential issues much sooner. In addition to World Water Monitoring Day, EarthEcho has a Water Challenge that runs annually from March 22 through December and encourages regular water quality monitoring and testing.

Water quality results can be uploaded online to EarthEcho’s database.

More information about the program as well as water quality kits for purchase can also be found on the website.

If you are looking for additional resources about water quality testing, visit our Water Quality Education and Resources website.

Also, for more extensive testing, you can visit the Ag Analytical Service Laboratory’s website.  The lab provides a variety of water quality testing packages for you to choose one that best fits your needs.

(Reprinted from Penn State Extension Watershed Winds newsletter.  Click Here to sign up for your own copy.)

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[Posted: September 20, 2021]

9/26/2021