Community science to the rescue: Capturing water quality data during the COVID-19 pandemic
In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic affected all aspects of human life. When laboratories in Ontario closed, scientists could not collect and store environmental samples, so scientific monitoring of the environment was paused.
An alternative approach where local volunteers are trained and provided with the sampling equipment to collect environmental samples, known as community science, was used to collect water samples following the local pandemic restrictions.
Read this open access paper on the FACETS website.
We trained and provided materials for 58 volunteers on 16 lakes in south-central Ontario. Volunteers collected water samples from their waterfront properties from June — September 2020 that they stored in their home freezers until laboratories reopened and researchers picked them up in October 2020.
Volunteers also completed an online survey, providing information about their use of their waterfront property before (2019) and during (2020) the COVID-19 pandemic.
The water samples were analyzed for nutrients (phosphorus and nitrogen) that are important for determining aquatic plant and algae growth.
Nutrient levels varied greatly between lakes, and surrounding land use was an important factor in determining nutrient levels. We also compared nutrients before (2019) and during (2020 and 2021) the pandemic in four lakes but did not find a clear impact of the pandemic.
However, we did demonstrate the role that community science monitoring can play in continuing monitoring when regular environmental monitoring programs are disrupted.
Read the paper — Community science to the rescue: capturing water quality data during the COVID-19 pandemic by Erin D. Smith and Andrea E. Kirkwood.
