Is the Volunteer Information Reliable?
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It is important to compare the citizen data of AWW volunteers with research data of universities and governmental agencies in order to test its reliability. The graphs below compare LWLM data with ADEM data for four water quality variables at three lake sites.
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In every case, citizen data compared favorably with research data, underscoring its reliability for use by lake managers and regulator agencies. Of note was the lower Secchi disk visibility at the Hwy. 280 site, detected by both ADEM and LWLM, which indicated pollution (algal "blooms" and other suspended or dissolved substances).
Lake Martin water quality information was collected in 1997 by ADEM and Lake Watch of Lake Martin near Kowaliga Bridge, the mouth of Blue Creek and the Highway 280 bridge (ADEM 1999b, Deutsch et al. 1998c). A bar represents the growing season (April through September) average of a variable, and the vertical line at the top of a bar represents the range of readings. About six samples of each variable were compared per lake site. |
This report was compiled by Alabama Water Watch program personnel
in partnership with Lake Watch of Lake Martin.
