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 Citizens Monitoring Bacteria
Monitoring Activities in Minnesota
At each site, volunteers collect a sample that they split into two subsamples. One they send to Minnesota Valley Testing Laboratory, a lab in New Ulm certified by the MN Department of Health. The second subsample they analyze at home using the two different test kits: Coliscan Easy Gel and 3M Petrifilm.
Sampling Years
2005
During the summer of 2005, 7 volunteers monitored at 13 sites on 9 streams, including the St. Louis, Snake, and Minnesota rivers, and tributaries to Mille Lacs. They collected nearly 150 samples, monitoring weekly to be able to follow state standards for assessing the health of their stream by calculating a geometric mean of 5 samples collected within a 30-day period. These committed volunteers contributed about 350 hours to the project - and they received useful data to help evaluate their stream sites.
Click here to see 2005 sampling sites
2006
37 volunteers, together with a couple of returning volunteers, will monitor at 23 sites on 14 lakes or streams. Volunteers will monitor in 12 Minnesota counties.
Click here to see 2006 sampling sites
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