VLMP

• What is VLMP?
• Program Objectives
• Program History and Timeline
• Tiered Approach
• Monitoring Methods
• Who should Volunteer?
• I want to Join the VLMP!
• Training
• How long do the trainings take?
• What does my data mean?
• Newsletters
• Lake Notes
• Training Manual
• Training DVD
• Online Lakes Database (Enter and Retrieve data, charts, graphs and reports here.)
• The Great North American Secchi Dip-In
• World Water Monitoring Day
• Contact Us
• Illinois Boating Safety Laws
• Illinois Online Boating Safety and Certification

Monitoring Methods

Volunteers in Tier 1 measure water clarity (transparency) using a Secchi disk. The disk consists of a weighted metal or plastic plate, eight inches in diameter which is painted black and white in alternate quadrants and attached to a calibrated rope or measuring line. The disk is lowered into the lake and the depth at which it is no longer visible is noted. This depth is called the “Secchi depth.” It is most useful to document changes in the transparency of your lake water over a period of years to develop meaningful trends in transparency. Monitoring is conducted twice a month from May - October, typically at three in-lake sites. The volunteer also records a series of field observations relating to other important environmental characteristics of the lake, such as water color, weather conditions during monitoring and in the previous 48 hours, presence and amount of aquatic plants at each site and the lake as a whole, presence or absence of aquatic exotics, site depth and watershed activities. The volunteer also documents recent lake management activities, such as, dredging or applying chemicals and notes any recreational lake usage which could impact the lake.

After completing Tier 1 for at least one year, volunteers may enter a rotation which allows them to collect more detailed information on their lake – Tier 2. Participants in Tier 2 collect water samples once per month May through August and September at Site 1.

The sample is taken at one foot below the surface of the water, is poured off into the appropriate containers and shipped to the laboratory where it is analyzed for ammonia, nitrate-nitrite nitrogen, total Kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN), total phosphorus, alkalinity, chloride, total suspended solids and volatile suspended solids.

After a volunteer has completed at least one year of Tier 2 monitoring and has met monitoring consistency and accuracy requirements, they become eligible for Tier 3. Volunteers in Tier 3 are chosen by Illinois EPA based on the volunteer’s interest in becoming a Tier 3 volunteer, the volunteer’s monitoring history and demonstrated proficiency, and if there is an opening in the rotation. Another requirement for Tier 3 eligibility is the lake being monitored must be 20 acres or more. This is because the water quality standard for total phosphorus only applies to lakes at least 20 acres in size. Since the data collected in this tier are being used by the Agency for making use-support decisions, lake size is a factor when applying water quality standards to these decisions.

The monitoring tasks for Tier 3 are similar to those of Tiers 1 and 2. A Tier 3 volunteer is expected to monitor their lake’s Secchi disk transparency twice per month from May through October, as well as, collect water quality samples once per month from May through August and October. However, there are additional monitoring tasks reserved for only Tier 3 volunteers. For example, in Tier 3, the volunteer may be required to collect water quality samples at up to three sites on their lake (instead of just one as in Tier 2). They also collect and filter their own chlorophyll samples (see pictures below). This sample is collected at twice the Secchi depth and filtered by the volunteer to determine the amount of chlorophyll (the green pigment found in algae and other plant cells) in the water.

The filter is sent to the laboratory for analysis.