April 2022 – Present: Tahoe Keys Control Methods Test
As part of a study to assess the first-ever use of herbicides in Lake Tahoe, Blankinship & Associates was responsible for developing and employing methods to sample, analyze and quality assure herbicide concentrations in surface water and sediment in this unique alpine lake designated as a Clean Water Act Outstanding Natural Resource Water. We work regularly with numerous project collaborators including the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA), Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board (RWQCB) and the Tahoe Keys Homeowner’s Association (TKPOA). Work included:
- Use of unique boat-deployed sampling protocol and equipment to collect and analyze over 1,065 water and sediment samples over a 4 month period at over 30 sites
- Performance of over 960 real-time in-field fluorometer rhodamine dye analyses as a surrogate for herbicide presence
- Extensive collaboration with the partner analytical laboratory to develop, test and validate analytical methods for triclopyr, endothall and rhodamine
- Creation and adherence to strict QA/QC protocol for water quality field instrument calibration
- Successfully addressed RWQCB requirements for sample coordination, permit compliance and reporting