Elkhorn Slough Volunteer Water Quality Monitoring

Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve (ESNERR), the Elkhorn Slough Foundation (ESF), and the Monterey County Water Resources Agency have been supporting a volunteer water monitoring program since 1988. Twenty-six stations (see map on project website) are sampled monthly for temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, pH, turbidity, nitrate, ammonium, and dissolved inorganic phosphate. The data are collected in the field by a singularly dedicated and reliable volunteer, Sue Shaw, with assistance from other volunteers. Analysis of this data revealed important trends, such as an increase in nitrate concentrations since the 1970s, and important variance in different areas of the Salinas River. The Elkhorn Slough has awarded two additional citizen monitoring grants to study water quality in greater detail since 2005.