Guide to surface water quality monitoring in the Cayuga Lake watershed

The Cayuga Lake Watershed (CLW) is home to many municipal agencies, educational institutions, non-governmental environmental organizations and citizens? groups with significant interests in the quality of the lake and its tributaries. As a result, numerous studies and monitoring programs have been, and will continue to be, conducted throughout the watershed. However, water quality monitoring studies have differed widely in purpose and scope, corresponding to the interests and funding of scientific investigators, the information needs of specific agencies and the enthusiasm of volunteers. Therefore, any plan for a comprehensive monitoring plan becomes very complicated due to the immense diversity of interests and study questions that drive water quality monitoring in the CLW. The unfeasibility of a monitoring plan lead to the creation of this Guide to Surface Water Quality Monitoring in Cayuga Lake Watershed, which achieves some of the goals of a comprehensive plan while still accommodating the needs and scopes of current and future monitoring activities. The Guide provides an introduction to study design, five objectives for CLW monitoring and the types of sampling programs that could meet the objectives, and an overview of a data clearinghouse begun as part of this project. Appendices provide supporting information such as questions to inform study design, sample field data sheets and explanations of key parameters suggested in the Guide.Finger Lakes-Lake Ontario Watershed Protection Allianc