Water Sampling Techniques

Visual inspection
• Please note the following aspects:
• 1) Potential pollution sources (industrial,
agricultural, domestic, animals)
• 2) Condition of water (clear, cloudy, color,
smell, foam)
• 3) Map of Site (electronic or sketched,
photograph if possible)
• 4) Brief written description of site.
 Samples and Controls:
1) Sample all sites in triplicate.
2) Collect all samples in 100mL or 1L Whirlpak
bags
3) Use a field blank. This consists of taking one
of Whirlpak bags, filled with deionized water,
along to the sampling site. The bag is opened
for roughly the same amount of time it took you
to sample. The bag is then reclosed and
returned to evaluate with your samples.
4) Use a lab blank.
 Samples and Controls
5) All samples must be clearly labeled by site,
number of sample, and status as field blank (FB) or
lab blank (LB).
For example, say you sampled Miller Creek at the
bridge and in the marsh.
You would generate the following sets of samples:
MCB1, MCB2, MCB3, MCBFB; MCM1, MCM2,
MCM3, MCMFB; MCLB.
Use an indelible marker to label all bags before
trying to take sample (wet plastic does not take ink
well). In addition to the sample IDs, all samples
should be dated..
 Sampling Procedure
• 1) If sampling a body of running water, point the
mouth of the bag upstream and your hands
downstream to avoid contamination.
• 2) If sampling from a water faucet, run the faucet
for 1 minute before obtaining a sample.
• 3) Rinse the bag twice with the sample water prior
to filling and closing.
• 4) Fill bag as full as possible. Half-filling the bottle
leaves more room for oxygen which will promote
degradation of your sample.
• 5) Collect data such as temperature and pH which
affect the solubility of many ions.
 Preserving and Storing your
Sample
• 1) Storage before filtration should be at 4 °C
for not more than 2 days.
• 2) Storage after filtration should be at 4 °C for
not more than 30 days.

Filtration of the sample through 0.45 μm filters

removes most bacteria and will slow sample
degradation. All glassware used for filtration
should also be cleaned using the acid washing.
 Cleaning of glassware used in analysis
Acid Washing – (Safety Goggles Required!!)
• This step serves to oxidize and solubilize any oxidizable
materials. Rinse the inside of the glassware with 8 M nitric
acid (HNO3). 5 to 20 mL acid should be enough. It is not
necessary to fill the glassware, just add enough that you can
turn the glassware and wet all internal surfaces.
• If the glassware is not visibly dirty and the acid does not
discolor, you can reuse the acid for other glassware.
• Rinse the bottle twice with tap water. Do not reuse the rinse
water.
• Rinse the inside of the glassware with 1.2 M hydrochloric acid
(HCl) once again being sure to wet all internal surfaces. This
acid wash can be reused if not visibly discolored.
• Rinse with tap water three times. Do not reuse the rinse
water.
• Do a final rinse with three individual portions of deionized
water. Do not reuse the rinse water. Do not dry the internal
surfaces or touch them with your hands.
Thanks