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 Biologists
and chemists in this section monitor
the water quality of Northeast District surface waters and provide
expertise to Water Program permitting, compliance and enforcement
sections. Surface Water Quality Sampling
Technical Services staff spend a considerable amount of time
performing biological and chemical assessments of the
surface waters within the Northeast District. Chemical
sampling provides a snapshot of the highly variable
composition of effluents and their receiving waters.
Biological testing and sampling provide a long term overview
by examining the changes and composition of the communities
living in the water body. The presence or absence of
different groups of organisms are indicators of good or poor
water quality.
Biological and chemical sampling provide an objective means
to quantify the current condition of a surface water or the
environmental impact of a pollution source.
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Learn more
about surface water quality... |
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Florida STORET A water quality data warehouse website that
contains data collected in Florida. This website allows you to
retrieve data from the warehouse and download as a text file or
display it on a map. |
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St. Johns River At A Glance Study DEP scientists
evaluate water quality along the St. Johns by conducting monthly
sampling. Since environmental factors can change
quickly, scientists dubbed the survey "River at a Glance" to emphasize that
the sample results represent a monthly snapshot of the St. Johns River. |
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Data
Review for Quality Assurance
All data sent to the Department, whether it is generated from the facility's in-house
laboratory or a private contract laboratory,
must be complete and accurate, since it is used in
determining facility compliance with department permits and
rules.
Investigative Sampling
The Department periodically receives inquiries on
activities where an environmental impact may have occurred. Technical Support biologists provide assistance by collecting and analyzing samples to
determine if these occurrences are from natural causes or from a specific source. Many of these occurrences may actually
be from natural causes, such as a sudden drop in dissolved oxygen with increased algae
growth in the summer causing fish kills, bright green or yellow sheen on the water in
the spring from tree pollen, or mats of "sludge" appearing in the winter from
decayed vegetation. If Biologist's determine that an environmental impact has
occurred, samples are collected and compared against background data to determine how much
of an impact has occurred, how much of an area it has affected, and
potential causes.
Technical Services staff regularly work with stakeholders in
a watershed to identify the cause of imbalances in the
biological communities of surface waters and to mitigate or
reduce the impacts once the cause has been identified.
Contact
Information
Section
Supervisor
Pat O'Connor
(904)807-3228
All
Technical Services Team Members |
