Coeur d' Alene Basin Water-Quality Monitoring

benchmark site: Sites sampled once per year during low streamflow conditions. Every five years Benchmark sites will be sampled for one year at the same frequency of Sentinel sites. These sites provide data on potential long-term trends in basin water-quality conditions.

continuous streamflow: Flow data that is continuously recorded. Data is downloaded and discharge is computed on a regular basis from the recorded field measurement.

discharge: Rate of water flow passing a given point at a given moment in time, usually expressed as cubic feet per second.

dissolved metals: Amount of metal, such as cadmium, lead, and zinc that is dissolved in water, usually expressed as micrograms per liter.

hardness: A measure of the amount of calcium and magnesium salts in water. The more calcium and magnesium in water, the harder the water, usually expressed in milligrams per liter of dissolved calcium and magnesium carbonate.

real-time streamflow: Flow data that is transmitted to a satellite, decoded at an acquistion center, and made available on NWIS Web usually within one hour of the recorded field measurement. This data is considered provisional until it has been approved for publication. See the NWIS Web Provisional Data disclaimer.

sentinel site: Sites sampled eight times per year to provide information relative to Basin-wide conditions and mass balances of metals, nutrient, and sediment loading. These sites provide data on potential short-term trends in basin water-quality conditions.

suspended sediment: Particles of rock, sand, soil, and organic detritus carried in suspension in the water column, in contrast to sediment that moves on or near the streambed.