Design environmental surveys
Assignment 1
Analysis of survey methods
Student name
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Assessor
Adam Samuelson
Assessment ID
DES-1
Due Date
End of Semester 1
Total Marks Available 111
Marks Gained
Teacher to mark
Final score (%)
Teacher to mark
Date Marked
Teacher to mark
Weighting
This assignment will form 15% of your overall assessment mark
Design environmental surveys
Assignment 1
Purpose
This assignment relates the field and laboratory activities you perform to real world
standards associated with water quality monitoring for environmental compliance purposes.
Under State legislation (POEO Act and EP&A Act in NSW) certain industrial activities are
described as ‘scheduled premises or activities’ and as such frequently require environmental
monitoring of waters to ensure compliance with the law. This work involves using standard
procedures (such as the Australian Standards) to develop sampling, analysis and water
quality monitoring surveys and plans.
Laboratories and consultancies hire people such as graduates from our courses to perform
these duties and as such, you need to have a comprehensive understanding of what is
required from you when performing these tasks.
The purpose of this assignment is to determine the correct procedures for working with a
water quality monitoring framework and highlight the differences between the correct
procedures and what we do at TAFE (which has many restrictions which hinder the correct
implementation of these procedures).
Assignment
You will acquire the following documents;
AS/NZS 5667.1:1998 Water Quality – Sampling. Part 1: Guidance on the design of sampling
programs, sampling techniques and the preservation and handling of samples.

You will read and summarise the standard and answer the questions on the
following pages that relate to the standard and the field sampling that you perform
(either at Toronto or on campus in Throsby/Styx Creeks).

All of this will be performed in this document (written or typed).
MSDS for five common field chemicals which are available for download from the DES study
materials page.
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Safety precautions
1. Using Safety Data Sheet as a source of information, complete the following table for
the following five chemicals that you take in the field, highlighting the threat that the
chemical poses to you and the environment. (5 mk)
Personal hazard
Environmental
hazard
Risk
Control
Hydrazine
sulfate
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pH 10 Buffer
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Phosphate
reagent
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Sodium sulfite
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Redox
calibration
solution
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Chemical
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2. If a site were to be deemed ‘unsafe’, what could be done to ensure sampling would
continue? (2 mk)
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3. What specific WHS training should field technicians have? Explain how you protect
yourself from natural hazards such as exposure and wildlife? (2 mk)
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4. How important is direct communication between field staff and their supervisors? By
what techniques can this communication be achieved? What are the potential
consequences of poor (or no) communication? (2 mk)
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Factors affecting sampling
5. Considering the variability of natural aquatic systems (such as creeks and lakes),
describe, using your knowledge of representative sampling, why it is so important to
ensure that sampling occurs at the exact location each time? (4 mk)
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6. After reading Clause 4.1.1, describe how sampling locations should be identified in
the field. (2 mk)
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7. Of all the tests you perform, which analytes/tests are the most likely to change as a
direct result of environmental changes such as diurnal or seasonal? (2 mk)
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8. From Clause 4.2.2 & 4.2.4, list the key factors to consider when sampling from lakes
and streams. (4 mk)
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9. What are the general requirements for sampling microbiological analytes? (1 mk)
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10. Describe the general method for correctly obtaining a sample using a sterile
microbiological container? (2 mk)
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11. Explain which key sample characteristics could change when using composite
sampling methods. Would time weighted samples be different to flow weighted
samples? (6 mk)
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Quality control samples
12. After reading sections 1, 5 & 8, describe the difference between, and the purpose of
the following four terms in from a quality assurance and control perspective; (4 mk)
a. Control
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b. Blank
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c. Duplicate
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d. Replicate
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13. From Section 5.1, what is the difference between a control sample and a control
site? What purpose does each serve in the quality assurance of a water quality
monitoring program? (4 mk)
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14. At what stages of the sampling event can sample contamination occur? (3 mk)
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15. List and describe the blanks which are used to determine the point at which
contamination occurs? (4 mk)
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Sample containers
16. List the predominant criteria used for selecting sampling container material. (4 mk)
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17. List four other factors needed when considering container materials. (4 mk)
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18. After reading Clauses 7.2.1-5, list the main types of sample container materials used
in sample collection. (7 mk)
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19. Under specific circumstances it may be necessary to wash (or otherwise prepare)
sample containers for use before sampling. Read Section 7.3 and list some of the
general techniques available for preparing sample containers for use. (3 mk)
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20. Read Section 9.2.2 and describe the sampling equipment used to collect samples
specific depths. (2 mk)
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21. What techniques should be employed when collecting samples for dissolved gas
measurements? (3 mk)
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Sample identification and transport
22. Sample labels should contain enough information that enable the sample to be
traced back to the site and time of sample. Based on this knowledge, what is the
minimum information that should be on a label? (2 mk)
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23. List the key points required for correct packaging of samples in sample transport
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containers (such as Esky’s™). (4 mk)
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24. The ‘record of samples sent’ mentioned in Clause 10.4 refers to Chain of Custody
(CoC) procedures. What is the purpose of a chain of custody procedure? (4 mk)
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25. Obtain a copy of a Chain of Custody document and list the key or most important
information it contains. (5 mk)
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Sample preservation
26. Based on the Standard, complete the following table which identifies the sample
containers, preservation and storage for the samples you collect at Toronto (or
Newcastle). (7 mk)
Analyte/Test
pH
Conductivity
Dissolved
oxygen
Lead
Nitrate
Phosphorus
(sol.)
Turbidity
Container type
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Preservative
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Holding time
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Do we do it?
(Y/N)
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Flow measurements
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27. We monitor indicator analytes for the determination of potential pollution events.
What does the standard mean when it states that; ”…pollution loads cannot be
assessed without flow measurements.”? (4 mk)
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28. Under what circumstances could the direction of water flow change in surface water
bodies? (2 mk)
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29. How could you describe the direction of water flow? (2 mk)
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30. How could you measure the velocity of water? (2 mk)
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31. How could you measure the quantitative flow rate (discharge) of a river? (2 mk)
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32. If the discharge rate of a creek is 20 L/s, and the concentration of nitrates is 64 mg/L,
how much nitrate is entering the receiving body in 24hrs? (2 mk)
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Types of sampling program
Appendix A (and Section 2.2 – A-D) of the standard discusses the three most common types
of sampling programs that the standard is used for (in relation to compliance monitoring).
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33. Based on your knowledge of the Toronto/Newcastle monitoring programs, which
type of sampling program do we run? Explain your answer based on how you sample
and what you analyse for. (5 mk)
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Comparison Task (compulsory, but worth 0 marks)
This task relates the fieldwork we do at Toronto to what the Standard says. The reason this
is compulsory is for you to understand that sometimes studying is different to reality, and
we cannot fully impose real conditions in the field for a variety of reasons. Your job here is
to understand which aspects of the Standard we do comply with and which aspects we
don’t.
You cannot do this task without experiencing the fieldwork, so the due date for this
assignment is at the end of semester.
Comparison task: Safety Precautions
a) Generally speaking (using the Standard as a comparison) how do the safety
requirements in the field compare to those stated in the standards?
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b) Using the information in the fieldwork manual, describe the communication tools we
use in the field. If it needs improving, what should be done to improve it?
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c) With reference to Section 3.6 from the Standard, describe the safety of the sites you
sample from.
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Comparison task: Factors affecting sampling
d) What technique do we use to identify specific sampling points? Describe its
accuracy.
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e) Group 1 also sample using a Rising Stage Sampler. These sample bottles are designed
to sample creek water after significant rain events at different heights. The nozzles
of these sample bottles can either face into the flow of the water, or away from the
flow of water. Describe the difference each direction would have on the water
quality characteristics of the sample collected.
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f) Section 4.1.2 mentions ‘ease of access’. Use the table below to rate the ease of
access of the sites in your group (either Toronto or Newcastle).
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Comparison task: Quality control samples
g) Based on what we do in the field (Toronto or Newcastle), which quality control
samples do we not use?
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h) How does this affect the quality of the program? In your answer explain where
contamination could occur and which quality assurance technique we would need to
quantify the level of contamination.
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i) For one of your sites, provide a correct procedure (according to the Standard) as to
how a quality program should be implemented.
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Comparison task: Sample containers
j) Do we use sample containers for testing dissolved gases? Which technique is better?
Why is this technique better?
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Comparison task: Sample identification and transport
k) Complete the commercial CoC document your teacher has given you for your group.
Using a highlighter pen, identify the information that we do not provide.
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Comparison task: Flow measurement
l) How do we perform flow measurements?
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Where to get help
Contact your teacher if you run into any trouble this unit. You would be surprised how
flexible we are at accommodating your needs, but communication is the key. If you don’t let
us know you are having trouble, we may have trouble trying to help you.
References

AS-5667.1 1998

SMWW

Your teacher

ALS Chain of Custody form

CFFET Fieldwork A manual (Surface waters)
Submission
Students are to submit all assessments by the due date to the subject teacher by email using
the following filename format;
firstname-surname-assessmentname-duedate
Visit cffet.net/env/assessment for more information on submitting assessments, file names
and available file extensions that you can use.
Other resources
Note that some of these resources might be available from your teacher or library
Just the references – do not use general internet searches for this as the questions are very
specific to the Australian Standard.
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