WATER QUALITY MONITORING PROGRAMS

Water quality monitoring programs are important tools for understanding and managing surface water and groundwater contamination related to industrial and mining activities. With the increase in groundwater use for domestic, agricultural and industrial purposes in drought-affected areas, groundwater monitoring has also become important for ensuring supply of consistent and appropriate quality water.

​Services

• Developing water quality monitoring programs – including establishing monitoring objectives, identifying appropriate monitoring locations, determining monitoring frequency, developing monitoring procedures, identifying the analytical suite, and incorporating quality control. Where relevant, programs are set up to comply with regulatory requirements and any requirements stated in Water Use Licences and Environmental Management Plans.
• Interpreting water quality monitoring data – once a water quality monitoring program has been established, large volumes of water quality data are generated. Without a dedicated and experienced professional to make sense of the data, the data are often ignored or misunderstood. Significant value can be added to the monitoring program by organising, interrogating and presenting data in an accessible format.
• Reviewing existing water quality monitoring programs – often existing water quality monitoring programs are not achieving their set objectives. A review of the monitoring program aims to tailor the program towards the objectives, improve data management, ensure robust and defensible sampling techniques and optimize the frequency and distribution of monitoring. Significant cost savings or significant reductions in reputational and/or legal risks can be realised.
• Training on surface water and groundwater sampling – a monitoring program is only as good as the quality of the data, and good quality data begins with correctly collecting samples. Using appropriate sampling methods greatly improves the robustness of a water quality monitoring program. Training on sampling includes aspects such as choosing the correct container, filtering and preservation, purging methods, passive versus active sampling, data collection while sampling, chain-of-custody process, shipping samples, collecting quality control samples.