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Water Temperature Testing

1. Measurements are to be taken at noon on the second Saturday of each month:

   • June 11

   • July 9

   • August 13

   • September 10

2. There must be a minimum of two adults present at a site each time measurements are taken, for safety purposes

   • At least one of the two must have attended the in-person training, or have taken the online training.

   • The liability waiver for each person present for the measurements must have been signed and submitted to Orca Conservancy or Friends of the Snoqualmie Valley Trail and River. This includes not only the person who is taking the temperature readings but also the “safety” person and anyone else participating. If a person under the age of 18 is participating, then their parent or legal guardian must sign the waiver.

3. Measurements need to be taken in Celsius, not Fahrenheit. The thermometer provided to you reads in degrees Celsius.

   • Record your readings at the nearest half a Celsius degree.

   • From your own understanding, you can convert between Celsius and Fahrenheit using most smartphone calculators. (Most of them have a temperature converter), or you can do the conversion manually:

     • You can get Fahrenheit by multiplying Celsius by 9, then dividing by 5, then adding 32

     • You can get Celsiusbysubtracting 32 from Fahrenheit, then multiplying by 5, then dividing by 9

   • For example:

     • 70 degrees Fahrenheit is the same as 21 degrees Celsius

     • 10 degrees Celsius is the same as 50 degrees Fahrenheit

4. Ahead of time, check to be sure your thermometer appears to be working OK

   • No bubbles in the colored liquid

   • The temperature seems to be in a reasonable ballpark. For example, if you have the thermometer at home in a room that is around 70 degrees Fahrenheit, then the thermometer should show around 10 degrees Celsius

5. Take the air and water temperature in the same place each month

6. Take the air temperature

   • The thermometer must be in the shade

   • If it is raining, then shelter the thermometer from the rain

   • The thermometer needs to be at least several feet above the ground, and the air must flow freely around it (not up against a tree or bush or too close to your body).

   • It may be convenient to hang the thermometer on a string with a loop that you can hang over a branch, so you don’t have to hold your arm out for a long time. Let the thermometer hang upright (with the bulb down) for5 minutes before you read it

7. Take the water temperature

   • Put the entire thermometer under water. Use a string tied to the thermometer to prevent the water from washing away.

   • Be sure that the water is flowing freely around the thermometer. It should not be in a relatively still water area or an eddy that is looping the water back upstream. However, your personal safety is the most important thing. Let us know the location is not safe for taking a reading in moving water.

   • It is recommended to attach the string to a stick or fishing pole if it is difficult to reach the thermometer into moving water.

   • Let the thermometer rest in the moving waterfor5 minutes before you read it.

     • Hold the thermometer with the bulb still in the water but the rest of the thermometer out of the water so you can see the scale clearly

       -OR-

     • Take the thermometer out of the water, and then read the temperature quickly (so the air doesn’t change the temperature too much)

       If you can do it safely, it is more accurate to read the temperature while the bulb is still in the water. Read the temperature to the nears half of a degree

8. Make note of any changes to the location from your previous monthly measurements. Examples might be

   • The riverbank washed away so you have to record the temperature at a different spot. (If this is the case, please try to find an alternate spot as close as safely possible to the previous readings).

   • Major changes to the tree cover

   • Changes in how you reach the site (new fence, road construction that will affect future months, “No Trespassing” sign, etc.)

   • River level significantly higher or lower, affecting where you can take the reading.