Agencies monitoring Indiana's waters use many methods and protocols. This site is designed to compile existing protocols used by statewide monitoring programs in Indiana into a central location to provide:

accessible information on methods used for monitoring across the state of Indiana,
a foundation for possible discussions of aligning methods, and
information on methods that other groups might use to undertake or improve water monitoring.

To use this site, first choose an agency or monitoring program from the list below. The link will take you to an online table of protocols (including field and laboratory methods) used by that agency or monitoring program, with links to the complete document, when available. PLEASE NOTE: To maximize the main viewing section of each wiki page, you can minimize the sidebar by clicking on the arrow in the upper right-hand corner.

Monitoring protocols available:

IDEM Office of Water Quality, Watershed Assessment & Planning Branch Monitoring Programs

IDNR Fisheries

IDEM Hoosier Riverwatch

IDNR Lake & River Enhancement Program

IN Volunteer Lake Monitoring Program

IN Clean Lakes Program

US Fish & Wildlife Service

USGS NAWQA Surface Water Monitoring Program

These protocols are organized by agency. A companion site (the Inventory of Who is Monitoring What in Indiana) provides tables of parameters being monitored by various agencies, organized by parameter. Please contact Laura Esman for more information about this process or to offer additional information.

Inventory of Who is Monitoring What in Indiana

This is a companion website to the Catalog of Monitoring Protocols Used by Indiana Agencies, designed to provide the water monitoring community access to information regarding who is monitoring specific parameters and how they are being monitored. The parameters are organized by overall goals for water quality improvement (e.g., Reduce Nutrients, Reduce Sediments, Restore Aquatic Communities, etc.). This information will help provide a basis for eventual discussions about gaps, redundancy, and comparability of methods among the agencies.

Development of this site:

Protocol information available at this site was provided by the following agencies or monitoring programs:

Indiana Clean Lakes Program - Indiana University School of Public & Environmental Affairs
Indiana Department of Environmental Management
Indiana Department of Natural Resources
US Fish & Wildlife Service
US Geological Survey

Purdue University has coordinated the development of this site, in collaboration with the Indiana Water Monitoring Council. Please contact Laura Esman for more information.

Protocol Steward:

Each agency or monitoring program has selected a protocol steward to manage their page on this site. Each protocol steward is responsible for ensuring the information provided on their monitoring protocols is complete and current, updating any links to documents or manuals, and providing the contact information for the program. If you have questions on the protocols or the monitoring program, please use the contact information at the top of each page to obtain information.

Benefits of this site:

Previous processes have coordinated development of a number of statewide protocols that may be used as environmental indicators to measure watershed management success in lakes, streams, and wetlands through efforts of volunteers, consultants, and federal/state agencies. The use of these existing protocols and/or widely accepted protocol modifications will ensure comparability across programs.

Your feedback is important!

Please take a few moments to complete a survey to provide your comments and suggestions regarding the Catalog of Monitoring Protocols and the Inventory of Who is Monitoring What in Indiana. We are always looking to make improvements. Thank you!

IMPORTANT NOTE:

The protocol documents provided on this work space are for educational and research purposes only. They are not meant for sale or resale.