Agency Monitoring
Along with the many citizen scientists that are sampling our local streams and creeks there are also many others monitoring them for the benefit of water quality answers.
Most of these groups are state, federal or local agencies looking for more detailed information on our waterbodies. These include the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC), and the Lancaster County Conservation District. Most of these agencies sampling streams are using more sophisticated monitoring instruments that sample the streams every 15 minutes for a host of parameters. The end results are very similar to what the citizen scientists are monitoring but the amount of rigor in the sampling is much more heighten. The end result is just more water monitoring data on our local streams and creek.
Agency monitoring equipment
Agency stream monitoring
Lancaster County Conservation District
Sampling Data:
Parameters that are sampled include: dissolved oxygen, water temperature, specific conductivity, pH, salinity, total dissolved solids, and turbidity. There may be gaps in data due to unit malfunction and maintenance. Please note that data may be provisional and data users are cautioned to consider the nature of which the data will be used. Data will be updated twice a year.
Complete the Survey123 form by clicking the button below. Once the form is completed, you will be taken to a OneDrive folder containing all of LCCD’s Continuous In-Stream Monitoring data until December 2025 or until the end of data collection for the individual sonde unit.
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Featuring:
💧Amanda Goldsmith, Watershed Specialist, Lancaster County Conservation District
💧Tyler Keefer, Watershed Resource Specialist, Lancaster County Conservation District
The map to the left displays the locations of Lancaster County Conservation District’s in-stream continuous monitoring units, or Sondes. The exact locations are not publicly available to be considerate of the private property they may reside on. Please contact Noelle Cudney or Amanda Goldsmith with any inquiries or concerns.
Noelle Cudney – noellelafaver@lancasterconservation.org or 717-874-2557
Amanda Goldsmith – amandagoldsmith@lancasterconservation.org or 717-478-8224
Check out the Lancaster County Conservation District’s Data Dashboard. This dashboard enables users to visualize water quality data from in-stream monitoring units from around the county and look at BMP data.