Cyanobacteria Monitoring Perspectives from Region 1 NWQMC WEBINAR SERIES TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2016 HILARY SNOOK USEPA REGION 1 LABORATORY Today’s Talk Basic approach Methods and tools employed Addressing data Why the Need? A request from states No clear picture A moving target A need at multiple levels Educational Data need/modeling Resource management tool Risk/vulnerability UNH What Must it Encompass Multi-tiered with ability for technical expansion Low budget but technically sound Easily implemented Regionally consistency (standardized methods) New information at multiple levels Educational/Informative Utility for resource management applications Address ambient waters (preemptive) and bloom conditions Commensurate QA Workgroup Participants VTDEC Massachusetts Charles River Watershed Association Lake Champlain Basin Monitoring Program University of Rhode Island Watershed Watch NHDES Volunteer Monitoring Network Partnership NHDES Beaches/Lakes Program New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission NHDES Drinking Water Program USEPA Atlantic Ecology Division University of New Hampshire CFB CTDEEP Ambient Monitoring Program University of New Hampshire Extension Office CT Federation of Lakes Lebanon NH PWS USEPA Mid-Continent Ecology Division Manchester NH PWS USGS Merideth NH PWS Lim-Tex, LLC Pennichuck Water Works NH Eastern Analytical, Inc. Wakefield New Hampshire Lakes Collaborative Penobscot Nation Maine DEP Lakes Program Individual Citizen Scientists Maine Dover-Foxcroft Water District White Pond Lake Association MADEP Watershed & Drinking water Programs Candlewood Lake Authority Umass Amherst Dept. of Civil Engineering Lake Attitash Association Massachusetts Abbington Rockland Water Esperanza Academy District • 100+ lakes & multiple sites/sampling events in 2014 (3,000+ individual data points) • State agencies, citizen volunteers, Universities, Water suppliers Training and Expertise Educational component Quality Assurance BloomWatch! CyanoScope CyanoMonitoring Waterbody management component To determine the spatial and temporal BloomWatch! patterns of bloom occurrence in the region • Bare bones basic • Educational • Crowdsourced information • Smart phone • App- established methodology • Data Visualization – public domain BloomWatch App Lake Introduction Submit & Conditions Photos & Basic Info Delete Data & Bloom Size Lake Introducti Submit & Condition on & Photos Delete s & Bloom Basic Info Data Introduction & Basic Info Screen Size Video training clip to be installed Lake Introducti Submit & Condition Lake Conditions & Bloom Size on & Photos Delete s & Bloom Basic Info Data Size Screen Lake Introducti Submit & Condition on & Photos Delete s & Bloom Basic Info Data Photos Screen Size Lake Introducti Submit & Condition on & Photos Delete s & Bloom Basic Info Data Submit & Delete Data Screen Size • Shoreline/areal coverage of bloom • Close proximity photo (5-10m out) • Macro photo if possible • Float test pic? • Hope to add video training clip • 4 photo example and possible examples of look alikes (i.e. pollen) • Should be available to all by June Established to determine the occurrence CyanoScope and distribution of cyanobacteria genus/species across the region (mapping of potentially toxin producing waterbodies) • ORD NHEERL Ideation Grant • Citizen Science • Low cost tools • Sample collection/separation Protocol • Non-temporally based • Image capture protocol • Image based database • Public domain data Sampling Design On-Shore In-Lake BOH/Beach Programs Lake associations, state 1 meter IT sample or net WQ folks, BOH, beach tow programs CyanoScope Kit 3 meter IT sample or net tow CyanoScope kit Designed to complement currently existing programs UNH Cyanoscope Kit Approximately $640 with digital optics iNaturalist.org Bloom watch/CyanoScope component Low Budget, readily available tools Simplistic data collection and transfer Highly informative data Universally available http://cfb.unh.edu/CyanoKey/indexCyanoQuickGuide.html Tracking of cyanobacteria concentrations within regional waterbodies in combination CyanoMonitoring with efforts to forecast bloom occurrences, determine risk, and assess waterbody/human health vulnerability to toxic cyanobacteria. • Standardized methods • App development • Specialized low cost “Tool Kits” • Centralized Data • Data Visualization tools Sampling Methodology 600 Cyanomonitoring-General Cyanomonitoring-Forecasting 500 On-lake and/or shoreside On-lake sampling g/l) u 400 Weekly sampling Weekly sampling 3 meter net tow Integrated Tube standard (3m) 300 Secchi BFC separation PC/Chla fluorometric 200 PC/CHLa fluorometric BFC separation measurement Phycocyanin ( 100 Microscopy Microscopy Sample freezing Sample freezing 0 July Aug Sep Oct Leland Process of Respiration/Buoyancy 8000 6000 g/l) u 4000 2000 Phycocyanin ( 0 0 30 60 90 120 150 Holding Period (mins) Patent Pending Handheld 2-Channel Flourometer Chlorophyll a .25 - 2,500 ppb Phycocyanin (improving MDL) 10 - 100,000 ppb Other 2-chnl handhelds available $1,500 - $2,500 Stnds approx. $200 each (2 month shelf) Rhodamine solid state standards (2 year shelf) Meter Madness! SAP-SOPs-QAPP Comparison of Lake Attitash and Lake Cochichewick PC/Chla Ratio can identify similarities and differences 8000 140 6858 115 120 Lake Attitash 6000 g/l) 100 u 80 65 4000 60 PC/Chla Ratio PC/Chla 40 2000 Phycocyanin ( Phycocyanin 431 20 Lake Cochichewick 0 0 What happens across multiple study sites ?? Summer 2015 Lake Attitash, Lake Cochichewick and Lake Sebago 140 Lake Attitash 120 100 Lake Ratio 80 Cochichewick 60 Chla 40 Lake PC/ Sebago 20 0 Leland 3.0 140 2.5 PC/Chla 120 Ratio 100 2.0 precedes 80 Secchi Disk 1.5 depth and 60 is most 1.0 40 SDD (m) sensitive parameter 20 0.5 0.0 PC/Chla Ratio 0 Leland Cyanobacteria Monitoring App Data Forms Overview Screen Cyanobacteria Monitoring App Waterbody Screen Cyanobacteria Monitoring App Cyanobacteria Monitoring App Analysis Screen Cyanobacteria Monitoring App Summary & Next Steps BloomWatchers Smartphone Apps (training provided on the app) CitSci submission (WIP) CyanoScope App/microscope image training iNaturalist submission Monitoring folks Training on methods/kits (video clip & Mobile lab) Forecasting (WIP, Pilot) Outreach Mobile lab training roadshow? ELISA testing possibly this summer in relation to PC/Chla work Forecasting pilot project slated for this summer Questions? [email protected] 617-918-8670 .