HowTo – Reporting to lake cooperators

This HowTo describes how we will interact with lake sampling volunteers about watershed characterization and test results. Routine results are sent on paper or emailed once per year.

Change log:

When Who Comment
2023 01 13 Sp17 First skeleton.
2023 06 21 Sp17 Convert to Markdown. Begin to flesh out. 2022 reports are out to the lake volunteers.
2023 07 29 Sp17 Minor adjustments to Quarto framework.
2024 07 10 Sp17 Updated to reflect 2023 reporting. Bumped to complete.

Related HowTos:

1. Objectives

  • Inform volunteers about test results.
  • Inform DEC about test results.
  • Inform public about test results.

Note: Since there will not be interpretations in relation to lake watershed land use, we have dropped the objective to interpret data. These reports simply report back analytical results, including from Lake Waccabuc’s earlier projects.

2. Content of reporting

Routine reporting is similar to reporting to categorical and long term groundwater site cooperators. This will tabulate and convey all analytical results per location and sampling date, provide a map of sampling points, and provide cross-lakes and within-lake interpretations that highlight detections.

The report sections are very similar to categoricals reports.

  1. Header with the project title and date.
  2. Cover letter to the volunteers highlighting pesticide and metabolite detections in the last two years (or cumulatively).
  3. Aerial photo map of the lake. This locates and names all sampling points on the lake.
  4. Table of analytical results this year. The columns are samples, the rows are analytes sorted into groups field, ions, pesticides, and metabolites. Non-detects are omitted to shorten the table. The tables split sampling points up to fit the available width of pages; thus this “table” may spill over columns to a subsequent page.
  5. Table of analytical results in previous year. Non-detects are omitted.
  6. Table of laboratory detection limits for pesticides and metabolites for past two years.
  7. If the lake was part of earlier projects, table of prior pesticide or metabolite detections, anions, cations if possible.
  8. If the lake was part of earlier projects, table of detection limits in earlier projects.
  9. Project summary for all lake sites, cumulative.
  10. Closing page: atmosphere photos from the project that do not disclose any cooperator’s location or identity. Thanks statement. Confidentiality statement, noting that the report is not confidential from DEC and that volunteer samplers can decide about posting the report on the project website; when Cornell does the sampling the reports will be on the project website. Contact info for at least one project staff member who is the primary contact for the lake’s data. Link to website for the project.

Reports are generated identically to categorical or long term reports, see the HowTo: Reporting to categorical owners.

3. Timing of reporting

Lake sampling is organized on a yearly basis, with one or two sampling times selected by those who do the sampling. An annual reporting cycle is useful, in tandem with reports to categorical and long term groundwater cooperators.

4. Distributing reports

We use email of PDFs to cooperating lake volunteers and others with interest in the lakes, such as the volunteer operators of Chautauqua Lake’s Bemus Point - Stow Ferry who assist with sampling from their boat.

We consult with sampling volunteers about placement of reports on the project’s website. In general the reports are intended to be open to the public but we respect the volunteers’ insights about the reception of reports about pesticides.

The lakes that Cornell samples have no volunteer involvement thus the decision to post a report on the project website is up to DEC and Cornell.