Dr. Rick Copeland of AquiferWatch, who is doing the nitrates study in wells along the Santa Fe River in the vicinity of Poe Springs, sent out the following e-mail to participants in the program. OSFR has been fundamental in assisting in the study and held the workshop to initiate the procedure. Here is his up-date:
Santa Fe Basin Nitrate Sampling Project Update
(October 23, 2014)
Hello,
I want to thank everyone for participating in the Santa Fe Basin Nitrate Sampling Project. Volunteer samplers contributed significantly to the September sampling event. There were 79 groundwater samples collected, and of those, 39 were collected by volunteers working with AquiferWatch Current Problems Inc. The remaining 40 samples were collected by the Alachua County Department of Environmental Protection.
I want to let you know the status of the laboratory analyses and when you can expect the results of the nitrate sampling of your well. The sample results are not ready for distribution at this time. Please do not be alarmed. It often takes weeks to several months before all chemical analyses are completed, and the results are reviewed, checked, and re-checked for quality assurance. Nobody wants inaccurate chemical results to be distributed, and from a scientific perspective, it is much better to be “safe than sorry”.
When the Florida LAKEWATCH laboratory has completed its analyses and all of its quality assurance activities have been completed, it will send the results to AquiferWatch, as well as Current Problems and the Alachua County Environmental Protection Department. At that time AquiferWatch will send the corresponding results to each of you.
The next sampling event is in May of 2015. AquiferWatch will see that you get sampling bottles for the May sampling event, either in April or early May.
Some of you are on the current email distribution list, but did not obtain a water sample in September. AquiferWatch will contact you sometime in January. Our representatives will make an appointment to visit you and conduct a reconnaissance of your well. During our visit we will deliver to you sampling bottles and instruct you regarding sample collection.
Again, thank you all for participating in the project,
Rick Copeland P.G.
Director – AquiferWatch
P.O. Box 11185
Tallahassee, FL 32302
(850) 559-7199
rick@aquiferwatch.org
