Photo Credit: P. Owen
What Is “Water Quality”?
“Water quality” describes a water body’s condition based on biological communities, aquatic life, human health and recreational criteria.
This can include physical parameters, such as temperature, color and turbidity. The term also covers chemical parameters, such as salinity, pH and dissolved oxygen.
The Clean Water Act requires the U.S. EPA to develop surface water quality criteria that accurately reflect the latest scientific knowledge on the impacts of pollutants on human health and the environment.
These criteria help guide water quality and monitoring efforts in the Indian River Lagoon (IRL).
Why Water Quality Matters in the Lagoon
Healthy water quality in the IRL supports the lagoon’s ecosystems, nearby communities and economy. The IRL’s water quality is a critical component of its overall health. The lagoon is a valuable asset to Florida’s economy, and if its quality degrades, this asset loses its value.
Maintaining water quality is important to protecting the lagoon’s wildlife and plant species, as well as human health. Poor water quality affects the diverse habitats in the lagoon. In turn, habitats affect species health and eventually our water resources’ commercial and recreational value.
These connections show why ongoing water quality and monitoring efforts are so important. Donate to One Lagoon through the IRLNEP to support this work.
Photo Credit: P. Holm
Water quality is essential to human life and environmental health.
A healthy environment is one in which the water quality supports a rich and varied community of organisms and protects public health.
What Affects Water Quality in the Lagoon?
Water Quality Monitoring in the Lagoon
Water quality monitoring is important for generating the real-time data that tells us how the lagoon is doing.
Data continually improves our understanding of the lagoon, allowing us to make educated decisions for moving forward. Recent data also helps resource managers make informed decisions and take steps to improve lagoon health. However, limited data often hinders the development of actionable management plans that improve lagoon water and habitat quality.
The region is fortunate that several agencies and research organizations actively monitor lagoon water quality and make data publicly available. You can view real-time water quality data from these organizations below.
SJRWMD Continuous Water Quality Monitoring Portal
The St. Johns River Water Management District’s (SJRWMD) core mission is to protect and restore water quality. Water quality monitoring and reporting are key components, enabling the district to make resource decisions based on accurate and timely information.
Find links below to the environmental data retrieval tool or the continuous data portal.
FAU-Harbor Branch IRL Observatory Network (IRLON)
The Indian River Lagoon Observatory Network (IRLON), based at Florida Atlantic University’s Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, is conducting long-term, multidisciplinary, ecosystem-based research regarding the lagoon.
Its research benefits from the Indian River Lagoon Observatory Network of Environmental Sensors. The system is an estuarine observation and prediction network that provides real-time, high-accuracy, high-resolution water quality and weather data.
The ORCA Kilroy Water Monitoring System
The Ocean Research & Conservation Association (ORCA) created the water-monitoring technology known as Kilroy™. Hardly larger than a football, at a fraction of the cost of other sensors, Kilroy nimbly monitors the water’s speed, direction, temperature and depth.
Kilroy can work with other manufacturers’ instruments and does so 24/7 year-round, monitoring our living waters’ vital signs.