Standard Operating Procedures for Surface Water Sampling

STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES FOR SURFACE WATER QUALITY SAMPLING7.3.4 CHAIN OF CUSTODY1. Samples shall be locked in field trucks while sampling personnel are in the field.2. Sample jars shall be placed in the large, locked flammable proof cabinet in the equipmentstorage area of the ADEQ laboratory for storage, prior to delivery.3. A chain-of-custody form will be submitted with the samples at the time of delivery ofsamples to the laboratory.7.4 HABITAT ASSESSMENTSThe habitat assessment provides ecological information needed to interpret macroinvertebratebioassessments. Habitat and chemistry data provide an ecological context in which to place themacroinvertebrate data. Causes and sources of biological impairment can be explained by thechemical, physical, biological and land use information produced in the habitat assessment.Filling out habitat forms requires a little bit of homework. The flow regime, the flowregime category, and the fields listed under the stream type identification should befilled out before going into the field. Watershed area, predicted cross-sectional area,valley type, slope and sinuosity should be determined before going into the field sothat the "Stream Type" can be determined.The following sections follow the Stream Ecosystem Monitoring form. The firstseveral pages of the form match with what is normally done for ambient streammonitoring during ‘chemistry only’ visits, which occur during the summer, fall andwinter quarters. Additional information for these sections can be found in theprevious chapters.7.4.1 STREAM TYPE IDENTIFICATIONDetermining the stream type requires slope, valley type, watershed area, predicted cross-sectionalarea, sinuosity and stream order. Slope and sinuosity are used directly in determining the streamtype (FIGURE 7.10). The other fields are used to make sure that the stream type you came upwith is correct.The watershed area can be determined by using GIS or using the value in the water qualitydatabase. See Appendix C to calculate watershed area using GIS. Use FIGURE 7.5 to determinethe cross-section area based on the size of the watershed. Indicate which regional curve is used(FIGURE 7.4).FIGURE 7.4. SEM Form. Stream Type Identification.REVISED SEPTEMBER 2012 113