Protecting Oregon's Environment
Oregon State Seal
Oregon Department of Environmental Quality

Laboratory and Environmental Assessment

Water Quality Monitoring

Air Quality Index 
Air Quality Monitoring
Analytical Methods
LASAR Database
Oregon Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Program
Guidance and Quality Assurance
Technical Reports
Volunteer Monitoring
Water Quality Index
Water Quality Monitoring

Long-Term Large River Monitoring 

The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is responsible for keeping Oregon’s surface waters safe and healthy for a variety of uses such as drinking water, recreation, fish habitat and irrigation. To monitor trends in water quality, DEQ regularly collects water samples at over 150 sites on more than 50 rivers and streams across the state.

Most sites are visited every other month throughout the year, except for 6 Willamette River sites which are visited every month. Sites in SE Oregon are visited once a year in the fall. Water quality parameters that are measured include Alkalinity, BOD, Chlorophyll a, Specific Conductance, Dissolved Oxygen(DO), DO % Saturation , e. coli, Ammonia, Nitrate & Nitrite, pH, Pheophytin a, Dissolved Ortho-Phosphate, Total Phosphate, Total Solids, Temperature and Turbidity.

Some sites have been routinely monitored since the late 1940's. Long Term Large River Monitoring, also known as Ambient monitoring, is used to understand trends in Oregon's water quality over time, determine whether there is too much pollution in a water body, and set limits of how much pollution a water body can safely receive. Ambient monitoring data is also used to determine the Oregon Water Quality Index.

AmbientWaterQualityNetwork
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For more information about DEQ's Laboratory and Environmental Assessment Division please email LEAD.

 

Oregon Department of Environmental Quality
Headquarters: 811 Sixth Ave., Portland, OR 97204-1390
Phone: 503-229-5696 or toll free in Oregon 1-800-452-4011
Oregon Telecommunications Relay Service: 1-800-735-2900  FAX: 503-229-6124

The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality is a regulatory agency authorized to protect Oregon's environment by
the State of Oregon and the Environmental Protection Agency.

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