Part 1. Must be done at the river
Equipment:
A dedicated BR collecting bucket with rope tied securely to handle
500ml sample bottle
Latex gloves
Safety glasses
Safety
It is imperative to work with a buddy when using a bucket to sample.
Important
Have a dedicated BR bucket
Do not use sample bucket for any purpose other than for testing.
Try to test between 12noon and 2pm
The recommended time for testing is between 10am and 2pm, and ideally, between 12noon and 2pm.
Collect from the same place each month
Check your site guide sheet if you are unsure.
Collect in flowing water
Collect the sample water from a flowing section of the water body in midstream (if possible). Do not collect sample water from backwater or stagnant pools.
Note
If you have taken the water sample using a bucket and rope (as described in Part 1.5.2.) and AFTER having taken the D.O. sample, you may wish to continue all further tests (temperature, pH etc.) directly from the bucket, particularly if you are testing at the sampling site.
However if testing at home after the D.O. test is fixed, then you may need to transfer the water sample into a 500mL collecting bottle.
1. Standing on the bridge, lower the bucket (fastened to the rope) down into the river until it is half full.
2. Lift the bucket up and carefully place on the ground.
Important
Sample should be taken halfway across the stream and at half the depth.
If possible, if there is a riffle at your site, sample should be taken upstream of the riffle.
3. Rinse bucket out three times.
To ensure a representative sample, it is important that the bucket is rinsed 3 times and poured off downstream prior to collecting sample. Make sure the bottle is fully submersed to avoid collecting particles that may be floating on the water’s surface.
4. Plunge the open bottle (neck down) into the bucket and then turn the bottle around to fill a full bottle of water.
Make sure the bottle is fully submersed to avoid collecting particles that may be floating on the water’s surface.
5. Lift the bottle out of the bucket and begin to test from the bottle.