AWRC Develops Fact Sheets on How to Collect Your Water Sample and Interpret Your Results

The Arkansas Water Resources Center (AWRC) is developing a series of fact sheets on how to collect your water sample and how you can interpret laboratory results from the AWRC Water Quality Lab.

Anyone, from researchers to the general public, can collect and submit a water sample for analysis. When clients get their laboratory results, they often need help understanding what these results mean in terms of the quality of the water they had tested.

However, it can be complicated because the quality of your water depends on what you intend to use the water for: do you plan to use it for irrigation or for watering your livestock? Or are you curious about the water quality of the stream that runs through your property?

The Lab offers analytical packages that include parameters important for a specific use such as irrigation or livestock watering. The AWRC is developing a variety of fact sheets, including one for each analytical package.

The first fact sheet describes the Lab’s reporting limits, method detection limits, and concentrations that are reported as zero. This information can help you decide how to interpret results measured and reported by the Lab.

Stay tuned for upcoming fact sheets related to each analytical package. These fact sheets will include guidance on how to collect your water sample and how to interpret the results that the Lab reports. The fact sheets will help you to determine if your water is of good quality based on what you’re using it for.

You can visit the Lab’s website to view the water sample submission form for a full list of parameters and packages that the Lab offers.

For more information or to contact the Lab, visit the AWRC Water Quality Lab website at http://arkansas-water-center.uark.edu/water-quality-lab.php.