Evaluation of Water Monitoring Equipment Suppliers

There are many different methods to evaluate a waterway and an even greater number of companies devoted to supplying the evaluation equipment.  This paper shall serve to mention some of the different methods of evaluation as well as an evaluation of the supply companies.

Audubon International has created a concise fact sheet called Resources for Stream Quality Monitoring (Audubon International).  It lists the following different methods of stream monitoring:  visual surveys, macroinvertebrate surveys, testing for physical characteristics and specific chemical testing.  Visual surveys would consist of looking at the stream for color, surface film, checking odor, litter, etc.  Macroinvertebrate surveys involve sampling the water for insect larvae and worms.  The abundance and variation of the species present gives an indication of the health of the stream.  Testing for physical characteristics includes collecting data on pH, temperature, turbidity, dissolved oxygen and conductivity.  Lastly, specific chemical testing includes measuring the concentration of nitrates, phosphorus, potassium, heavy metals and other compounds.

The NSTA (National Science Teachers Association), on the other hand, has a set of ten different protocols for evaluating streams (Carlsen, W. et al, 2004).  Some of these protocols are similar to the broader categories of Audubon International.  Protocol 5, for instance, is “Collecting aquatic invertebrates to do a survey of biota”.  Protocol 6 is a Simplified Stream Biota Test (SSBT) using data from Protocol 5 to assess the quality of a segment of a stream.  Similarly, Protocol 7 involves a more complicated assessment called an Index of Biotic Integrity (IBI) that also used the data from Protocol 5.  Protocol 8 measures a stream’s discharge, calculating the volume of stream flow, based on water depth and flow velocity.  Protocol 9, Aquatic Chemistry, involves collecting stream samples and analyzing the water using kits.

A dizzying number of businesses supply the equipment professionals and volunteers use to monitor physical, biological and chemical characteristics of streams.  Below, I shall list some of the more prominent companies and organizations that supply this equipment, with a concise description of their offerings.

Ben Meadows—This family-owned company was purchased in August, 2018 by Forestry Suppliers.  The notice on the Ben Meadows website describes the two companies as “friendly competitors” since the 1950’s, with similar values. 

Forestry Suppliers https://www.forestry-suppliers.com/BM/index1.php#  --  This family-owned company sells equipment for forestry, engineering and environmental science.  They sell over a thousand items of water monitoring equipment.  These include data loggers, water samplers, water analysis kits, water testing kits, and stormwater and spill management equipment.  You can search by price point as well as by brand.  A very comprehensive supply company.

In-Situ  https://in-situ.com/ -- In-Situ is an environmental equipment rental company.  It manufactures its own equipment for water quality and water flow monitoring and appears to be directed more towards the professional than a volunteer water evaluator.  In-Situ provides 24/7 technical support.  They also sell their products, but do not list the price on the website.  You need to contact them for a quote.

SOS (Save Our Streams), Izaak Walton League  https://www.iwla.org/conservation/water/save-our-streams -- Save our Streams is a citizen science program sponsored by the Izaak Walton League.  They recommend various chemical and physical monitoring equipment designed for volunteers and have links to companies that sell these items.  They also supply data forms and encourage you to share your data with the League, so that they can compile and use it.

Chemetics—This company offered kits for measuring various chemical properties, but was purchased by Worley in April 2019.

BioQuip Products https://www.bioquip.com/ --  BioQuip is a small company that sells equipment, supplies and books related to entomology and other biological concentrations.  It is a helpful source for stream monitoring using the NSTA’s Protocol 5.  Products include specialized collecting nets, magnifiers, books, educational materials and water sampling chambers.

YSI https://www.ysi.com/ -- YSI is a large company that sells every possible product you can imagine for assessing fresh and salt water bodies, stormwater and wastewater.  It is geared more towards the professional than the volunteer.  It offers extensive customer support and sponsors educational blogs as well as trouble-shooting articles (e.g. 5 Tips to Prevent Costly Mistakes with your Water Quality Sonde). 

LaMotte https://www.lamotte.com/en/ -- LaMotte’s website says they have been “solving analytical challenges since 1919”.  Many of their products have to do with pools and spas, drinking water and aquaculture.  However, they do have a full line of products for environmental education.  These include water monitoring kits, test strips, and bacteria studies kits.

Carolina Biological Supply Company https://www.carolina.com/ -- This company carries educational products for many natural and physical science curricula.  It sells the Earth Force Low-Cost Water Quality Monitoring Kit, developed in cooperation with Global Rivers Environmental Education Network (GREEN).  The kit tests temperature, turbidity, pH, dissolved oxygen, nitrates, phosphate and coliforms.

Acorn Naturalists https://www.acornnaturalists.com/ -- This environmental company sells educational products “for Trail and Classroom”.  Their website states that after 30 years of evaluating water quality test kits, they find LaMotte kits to be the best.  They offer a full array of LaMotte water quality test kits, including their GREEN (mentioned above in Carolina Biological Supply Company review) water quality monitoring kits.

Fondriest Environmental, Inc. https://www.fondriest.com/ -- Fondriest rents and sells many brands of equipment, including their own, In-Situ, YSI and Hach.  Their merchandise is directed towards the professional, rather than the volunteer.  They sell over 1700 water quality products alone.

Flinn Scientific https://www.flinnsci.com/ -- This company sells products for earth and environmental science.  It sells water samplers, water quality field trip kits, water sampling supplies and a DO kit.

Hach https://www.hach.com/ -- Founded in 1933, Hach specializes in water analysis.  Its products are geared towards the professional and most products are for continuous monitoring. 

Resources

Audubon International. Resources for Stream Quality Monitoring.   https://auduboninternational.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/WQ-Stream-Quality-Monitoring-Resources.pdf

Carlsen, W., Trautmann, N., Krasy, M. & Cunningham, Ct. (2004) Watershed Dynamics, Student Edition and Teachers’ Manual.  Arlington:  NSTA Press.