Water Quality Monitoring Programs

DEQ staff in each of the regional offices collects water samples on a routine schedule at more than 1,000 locations across the Commonwealth. These water samples are shipped to a state laboratory for chemical and bacterial tests. The samples are tested for levels of nutrients, solids, bacteria associated with human and animal wastes, toxic metals, some pesticides and harmful organic compounds.

DEQ's scientists also perform on-the-spot field tests for dissolved oxygen, pH, temperature, salinity, and additional indications of water quality. Samples from the mud at the bottom of lakes and rivers also are tested for the presence of pesticides and other harmful compounds.

The tens of thousands of samples and chemical test results generated each year are kept in a computer database. Virginia has more than 5 million water quality observations in its database, third largest among the states.