Good Repeatability: Why is it important?
We have you run each test twice on your creek water and we expect these results to be close to each other. This makes your data more credible. This is part of the QA (quality assurance) built into the program.
Good Repeatability: What is it?
The exact answer depends on which test you are referring to.
Oxygen: the results between both oxygen bottles should be no more than 2 drops difference for both high range and low range tests.
pH: both tests should be within 0.3 of each other.
Nitrate: If your results are on the low end of the scale (0-3 ppm), both test results should be no more than 0.3 ppm apart. If your results are higher on the scale, then your results should be within 2 ppm of each other.
Nitrite: results should be within 0.15 ppm of each other.
Ammonia: results should be within 0.1 mg/L of each other.
Orthophosphate: results should be with in 3 marks on the wheel of each other.
Chloride: results should be no more than 2 drops difference. The end color point is a slight orange color that stays. If you accidentally titrate to a bright orange, subtract one drop and that is your result. This applies to both the low and high range tests.
If your results do not meet the guidelines for repeatability, test again. This may mean retesting one or both oxygen bottles, running a third orthophosphate test, doing a third or fourth nitrate/nitrite test strip, or running a third chloride test, etc. Whatever you feel needs to be done to reach good repeatability.
Also, if your results are close to the high end of the scale, please investigate the next range of the test. For example, if your orthophosphate wheel reading is 37-50 please perform the next higher range of test. Or if your ammonia reads 0.7 mg/L on the low range, please perform the midrange test. The tests are more accurate at the low and middle parts of the scale.
Later this year or early next year I plan to add the acceptable difference for each test to the data sheet and the Blue Thumb Test Procedures. If you need to review this information in the meantime, I talk about good repeatability for each test in our instructional videos: https://www.bluethumbok.com/instructional-videos.html
If you have any questions about this, please feel to contact me.
Thank you for monitoring!
Kim Shaw
Blue Thumb QA Officer
Over July 23, 24, and 25, Blue Thumb participated in “Exploring the Wonders of a Watershed,” a workshop for teachers. I liked being a part of this, and the planning for it and the experience itself helped me do a mental inventory of how important it is to think in watershed concepts, such as:
- A watershed is all about the lay of the land – higher elevations divide basins
- Watersheds do not honor political boundaries – city limits, state lines, and county borders mean nothing to the movement of water
- Surface water and groundwater have intricate and very important connections
- The condition of a stream, river or lake is a reflection of what is happening throughout the watershed
- You might not see a waterbody from your porch, but indeed your home and yard are part of a watershed and you have an impact on a waterbody
- The water that we have now is all that we will ever have – no new water is being made, it is simply recycled over and over thanks to the water cycle
- We all live downstream – this is like the golden rule, but with water in mind – let’s take care of the water downstream from us and hope that those upstream are doing the same
- Water is a shared resource – many uses are frequently vying for the same water, and let’s not forget that fish and wildlife deserve their fair share
- The phrase “water conservation” takes on new meaning when it is YOUR drinking water lake that is suffering through a drought
- Clean water means different things to different people – it is critical that we are all participating in conversations that bring to light the importance of protecting our water resources and managing them wisely
Because this was a workshop for teachers, several times over the three days the conversation turned to helping students – both young people and adults – to find their “voice” concerning water. Have you found your voice concerning water? If so, how are you using it? If not, how can Blue Thumb help you?
Crossroads Conference
Colin Seis is an Australian farmer/rancher who is also an educator on the subject of regenerative agriculture. By the time you are reading this, I will have heard Mr. Seis speak at the Crossroads Regenerative Agriculture Conference. This was in Enid on July 30.
This is the second Crossroads conference, and it is sponsored by the Oklahoma Conservation Commission, Oklahoma Association of Conservation Districts, and the Garfield County Conservation District. There are additional wonderful partners helping to make this conference a reality. Not only does this conference target farmers and ranchers, it also offers an important urban track.
There are several good reasons why I want to hear what this successful regenerative agriculture producer has to say. The more I understand the ecology of functional landscapes the more I am able to effectively communicate about this important subject. Mr. Seis writes books and articles, he farms, he travels broadly to share his important research and effective conservation practices with others. Mr. Seis fills a niche – that of educator to an audience that is involved in agriculture.
We – you and I – fill a niche that is not nearly as focused. Our goal is stream protection, and often the job of the Blue Thumb volunteer is to learn the condition of a local stream through monitoring. Once we have a feel for how the stream is doing, we want those who live in the watershed to know, and we want for them to be introduced to the concept of protecting their stream.
When considering public education, I see that there are two very important jobs to do: 1) Have a message that is accurate and engaging and; 2) get the information out into the watershed. Often I speak to groups who are to some degree “on board” with the stream protection message. I get an invitation to talk to groups, and I love spending time with people who may already have an idea about what I will say. It is less easy to gain invitations to speak to groups who might not have protecting local streams on their radar.
So in the coming week I will hear a professional share how you can use the land, protect water quality, feed the pollinators, and be a profitable farm. This will help add to my “tool box” of knowledge. As I move forward from this I will consider how I can better reach out to neighborhoods, homeowner associations, businesses, churches, and municipal governments. If you have ideas on how to help me reach those folks who are less inclined to be keeping up with helping our environment, please email me: cheryl.cheadle@conservation.ok.gov.
Cheryl Cheadle
Blue Thumb Volunteer Coordinator
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