MONITORING LAKE ERIE WATER QUALITY USING CREATIVE METHODS IN CITIZEN SCIENCE

The increased public focus on algal blooms and invasive species in Lake Erie emphasizes the need for better spatial and temporal water quality monitoring. Due to the spatial extent of the lake as well as the seasonal patterns of water quality change, the aspects of water quality monitoring are both financially and labor intensive. In order to reduce costs and personal time, this project utilized citizen scientists to collect basic water quality data (pH, Temperature, Turbidity) through a partnership with a local sailing company. The research objective of this project was quantifying water quality at various locations along the eastern shore of Lake Erie from June to September. Initial work focused on using the smart phone application “Secchi”, which provided citizens with a centralized place to record data. As the study progressed, numerous complications regarding data collection arose, so new methods were formed to simplify the testing making it more convenient for citizens to participate in the study. The results demonstrate both successful and unsuccessful methods for collecting spatial and temporal water quality data within Lake Erie. This study’s conclusions are meant to be a starting point which can be taken to a larger scale project; monitoring the rest of the Lower Great Lakes.