Generally, there are six categories of data collected:
E.Coli Bacteria
- Contact Recreation - E. Coli Bacteria
- Human pathogen indicator
- 4 times per year/reach
- Non-Contact Recreation - Visual assessment form
- Aesthetic appeal to average person
- Garbage, odor, algae, clarity, etc
- Water Quality - Chemical measurements
- Nutrients (Nitrate-N, Ammonia-N, and Orthophosphorus
- Total Suspended Solids and Turbidity
- Dissolved Oxygen, Conductivity, pH and Temperature
- Sediment Quality - Sediment Chemistry
- Sampled at mouths of streams once per year
- Aggregates watershed inputs
- Metals, PAHs, pesticides and herbicides
- Habitat Quality - Forms based on visual assessment and direct measurements
- EPA national protocol, qualitative
- Non-scoring Pfankuch channel stability form
- Aquatic Life
- Benthic Macroinvertebrate Community (invertebrates)
- 9 metrics assessing: Diversity, Pollution Tolerance and Community Structure
- Evaluates stream health in terms of the preceding months to years
- Diatom Community (single cellular algae on rocks)
- Pollution Tolerance Index and Percent Similarity to Reference Conditions
- Evaluates stream health in terms of the preceding months to years
- Benthic Macroinvertebrate Community (invertebrates)
More detailed information on the specific methods for field and lab analysis in addition to metrics for determining scores is located in report COA-ERM-1999-01 Environmental Integrity Index Methodology, May 31, 2002 edition.
Click here to see the open data of Environmental Integrity Index results.
We have developed a watershed viewer, so it is easy to find out what watershed you live in and to find out its Environmental Integrity Index score.
The current two-phase monitoring cycle involves the monitoring of 122 sample sites within 49
watersheds in the City’s planning area.