Figure 1. YSI multi-parameter water quality sonde secured to bottom of Susquehanna River to monitor diurnal and weekly variability in dissolved oxygen and temperature at selected locations in the Susquehanna River. This information is valuable to assessing fish habitat and limiting factors to ecological health during low flow periods.
Figure 1. YSI multi-parameter water quality sonde secured to bottom of Susquehanna River to monitor diurnal and weekly variability in dissolved oxygen and temperature at selected locations in the Susquehanna River. This information is valuable to assessing fish habitat and limiting factors to ecological health during low flow periods.
A major effort underway by the Initiative is to continuously monitor water quality at selected locations in the West and North branches of the river. Little is known about the water chemistry of the river and how it relates to land use, discharges, and seasonal changes in aquatic plant growth and nutrient loads.
In 2009, we partnered with the Susquehanna River Basin Commission to configure and install two YSI 6600 water quality sondes and telemetry data logger systems at water treatment plants on the West Branch near Milton and on the North Branch near Danville. Since then, the instruments have recorded fluctuations in water quality and are now part of the SRBC’s Early Warning System, which is used by a number of state and federal regulatory agencies to alert them to sudden changes in river conditions.
Each sonde is equipped with five interchangeable sensors which measure water depth, temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH, turbidity, oxidation-reduction potential, and chlorophyl. They receive monthly maintenance and calibration to ensure accurate data.
Anyone can view the time series and selected various water quality parameters. The website also has an interactive map that shows the locations of the sondes. Users can also view statistics and plots of the data, as well as download the raw data in Excel, PDF, and HTML tables.