After a heavy rainfall, water runs off of non-absorbent surfaces like roads, driveways, and parking lots. While the rain pours off the pavement, it carries away all of the pollutants with it, including oil, gasoline, and sediment. These pollutants flow with the water into natural rivers, streams, and lakes. However, it’s not only the larger waterways that are affected; drainage ditches and storm water retention ponds become polluted as well. This runoff is referred to as nonpoint source pollution because it does not stem from one specific source such as an industrial facility. Due to the lack of rainfall in Nevada’s arid climate, several months of pollutants can be released during one large storm event. Characterizing the levels of pollutants in water runoff is an important task in protecting our water sources.

WETLAB has developed specialized testing suites for characterizing this runoff. These tests include turbidity, to measure the amount of sediment that has escaped the roadways, and metal levels, including lead and mercury. To find out how WETLAB can help you characterize water runoff, call us at (775) 355-0202 and talk to one of our talented project managers.

To find out more about nonpoint source pollution, visit the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection (NDEP) website here.

Our ongoing series Life of a Sample explores what happens behind the scenes at WETLAB.  If you missed part one and two, check them out here!

The next step for a sample at WETLAB is distillation and digestion, which takes two days.  Lab technicians start with organizing samples by hold times and due dates, ensuring timely and accurate analysis. Then, we look through historical data to determine if any dilutions are usually needed.  All samples are then organized, the sample preparation log is meticulously filled out, and reagents and standard solutions are gathered.  Then the distillation or digestion block is heated, and once the block reaches the correct temperature, the samples are added.  The process is carefully watched, making sure that no samples boil over, and that the bubbles don’t stop during distillation.  Once the timer stops, the samples are removed from the hot block and placed in clean specimen cups.  Up next, samples move to analysis.

 

Our ongoing series Life of a Sample explores what happens behind the scenes at WETLAB.  If you missed part one, check it out here!

The next step for a sample at WETLAB is sample preparation.  This process takes one day, and involves several different processes and people.  During the first step, all samples undergo the same log-in and review procedure, and sample prep is where the tests begin to diverge dependent on which analyses are required.  Some samples, including many soil tests, require the compositing of several different samples into one representative batch.  For many tests, different filtered and unfiltered aliquots are needed; these pieces are split up into different bottles and preserved as needed.  Once properly split, the samples are released to the lab.

Before the samples reach the lab, laboratory scientists clean and prep the necessary equipment, and lab technicians prepare batches of samples based on the tests logged in during step one.  Some tests are ready to preform immediately, and those move on to step three.  For others, extractions are needed.  This includes TCLP (toxic characteristic leaching procedure), cyanide extraction, MWMP (meteoric water mobility procedure), and humidity cells.   Some of these extractions take more than one day, like humidity cells, which can continue for a few months up to several years.  Ensuring proper preparations are preformed allows the rest of the analysis to run smoothly.  After the filtering and extractions are completed, it’s time for step three: distillation and digestion.

 

Have you ever wondered what happens behind the scenes at WETLAB?  You drop off a sample, then ten days later, you receive results.  Simple, right?  Well, there is a lot that happens from the time a cooler full of samples comes in the door to the time that you get results.  In this six-part series, Life of a Sample, you will get an inside look at what happens as a sample flows through the lab.  At WETLAB, we pride ourselves on the quality of our work, and the way that we handle your project exemplifies that. 

The first part of sample life begins before a specimen has ever been collected.  We begin with pre-project planning, which involves determining how WETLAB can make your project a reality.  Our stellar project managers work with you to figure out what you need done, and how we can make it happen.  This involves liaising with our lab manager, quality assurance manager, operations manager, and business development manager to ensure that we have the proper resources in place to preform all required and requested testing services.  Once a project scope has been discussed and agreed to, you gather your samples and bring them to lab (or have one of our friendly couriers pick them up).  When the samples arrive in the lab, the real fun starts.

A sample is received, along with a detailed Chain of Custody, by one of our knowledgeable client service representatives.  The sample is then logged in and checked for any initial errors in preservation, temperature, etc.  After that, the samples undergo two levels of quality assurance and control before they ever reach the lab.  The first is primary entry into the laboratory management system.  Once the primary entry is done, the sample is split into the necessary sets, and preserved and/or filtered if needed.  When the samples are in the proper containers for analysis, a second set of eyes reviews them and the initial data entry to ensure accuracy.  After the secondary review, the samples are ready to be released to the lab to begin analysis.  This intensive initial receiving takes about four hours, ensuring plenty of time for the next five steps to occur.  Next up: Step 2, Sample Preparation.

 

 

 

At WETLAB, we try to do everything we can to make things easier for our clients environmental testing needs.  One of the biggest ways we do that is with wide-reaching courier routes that run weekly.  Each of our three offices (Sparks, Elko, and Las Vegas) has their own routes, which makes it easier for clients all over Nevada and parts of California to have their samples analyzed in a timely manner.

For a sample of how far WETLAB travels to better serve you, we’ll take a look at the basic weekly schedule of pick-ups from the Sparks office.

Monday: Herlong, Portola, Grass Valley, North Lake Tahoe

Tuesday: Kirkwood, South Lake Tahoe, East Shore, Yerington

Wednesday: Carson City, Bridgeport, Topaz Lake

Thursday: South Shore, Mt. Rose, North Shore, Winnemucca, Round Mountain, Austin

Friday: Winnemucca upon request

If scheduled ahead of time, WETLAB can also provide basic sampling and off-route pick-up!  And when a storm comes, we make a special storm water route available.

 

Call us today at (775) 355-0202 to see how WETLAB can make your sample pick-up and delivery easier.

Nevada is home to many beautiful, expansive, and green golf courses.  But, Nevada is also a dry, arid desert which is currently going through a severe drought, and there’s no end in sight.  How are these two seemingly irreconcilable realities coexisting?  Well, that’s a multi-faceted answer.

Golf courses go hand-in-hand with Nevada’s hospitality and luxury industries, and companies would be hard pressed to simply let their green investments die a brown, crunchy death.  So companies, and courses, have gotten a little creative.  While they started with the obvious measures of reducing overall usage, and examining pipes for leaks, the reduction was simply was not enough.  Golf courses have now started using treated effluent water as a means for watering their massive lawns.  Many courses in Nevada, especially those lining the Las Vegas strip, have used gray water for several years, but effluent water is a newer usage concept.  Effluent water differs from gray water in that it must be more treated, since it can contain sewage.  Using effluent water, instead of fresh water or even gray water, means a reduction of demand for potable water, which in turn means that our dwindling water supply can hold out a bit longer.

Northern Nevada golf courses have capitalized on the use of treated effluent water as a means to water their grass.  It’s clear that the water-saving measure isn’t negatively impacting the golf courses, too, because the lawns are bright green and thriving.  You just have to drive by Washoe County’s Sierra Sage Golf Course in Stead to see that this is a great way to water the turf.  Sierra Sage gets their water from the City of Reno’s Stead Water Reclamation Facility, where the effluent water is treated to the point where it is no longer dangerous, but still not potable.

Another impact of this ever-worsening drought?  Shorter winters mean more time on the putting green.

 

WETLAB tests effluent water for EPA compliance, and water for golf courses is no exception.  WETLAB will also test all of your runoff and fertilizer samples, call (775) 355-0202 for more information.

Water Quality Award Goes To UNR Educator

WETLAB would like to congratulate Susan Donaldson, University of Nevada Cooperative Extension water quality education specialist, on receiving the McCurry Excellence in Water Quality award!

Presented by the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection, Donaldson was recognized earlier this month for her extensive and long-time contributions to water quality in Nevada.

Highlights in Donaldson’s work in the field of water quality include leading a statewide tall whitetop and noxious weed education campaign, where she received a Silver Spike Award of Excellence, she established the Nonpoint Education for Municipal Officials Nevada Program to provide water quality education for land-use decision making, she partnered with public agencies to create the Water Wise Program, and she launched a pesticide applicator safety training website with the Nevada Department of Agriculture, according to an article from Nevada Today, University of Nevada, Reno.

She has presented her work around the world, speaking at the 13^th Australian Weeds Conference in Perth, Western Australia, according to the article.

“Dr. Donaldson’s water quality education efforts have greatly informed the public. She is directly responsible for helping stakeholders apply their knowledge and skills to solve community environmental challenges,” said Colleen Cripps, administrator of the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection in the article. “We are thrilled to be able to recognize her efforts with this year’s Wendell McCurry Award.”

The award, established in 1999, honors Wendell McCurry who, over a 33-year career, advocated for water quality, established Nevada’s water quality standards and represented the state on the National Association of Clean Water Administrators.

WETLAB appreciates Donaldson’s work in water quality and specifically her contributions to educating both our state’s decision makers and the public on the important issues of water quality.

Viva Las Vegas!  As for Vegas, the lease is completed and we’re currently setting up and going through the certification process for the test we will perform in Vegas. We will perform locally Total Coliform, Quant Tray, Fecal Coliform, pH and BOD5.

The address is 3230 Polaris Ave. Unit 4, Las Vegas, NV 89102.
For additional information please contact Nick Ross at (775) 355-0202.

As part of a Comprehensive Water Quality Program, Huffman & Carpenter, Inc. (H&C) developed a surface water quality and groundwater quality development program of sampling for the Walker River Paiute Tribe (Tribe). The Tribe implemented a surface water quality monitoring program in 1997 to determine a baseline water quality for the Walker River as it flows through the Reservation. The Tribe is responsible for 323,406 acres in west central Nevada through which the Walker River flows to its terminus in Walker Lake. The long-term goals for the program are to assess water quality within the river and to establish water quality standards for surface water, groundwater, and other significant water bodies within the Reservation boundaries. The primary monitoring program which is currently being implemented is supported by a 106-Grant from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region IX. The ultimate objective of the Tribe is adoption of Tribal Water Quality Standards, establishment of water codes, and overall management of water resources within Walker River Paiute Reservation.

H&C has utilized Western Environmental Testing Laboratory since 2003 on the Walker River Paiute Tribe project. Specifically, WETLAB has provided the Walker River Paiute Tribe with high quality analytical results for surface water, soil and groundwater testing.

Huffman & Carpenter is located in Reno, NV. They are a group of professional wetland scientists, environmental scientists, biologists, engineers and economists that are dedicated to affect, promote and accomplish watershed restoration for human and wildlife habitats. Their services include, but are not limited to: Erosion Control, Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plans, Water Quality and Water Treatment, GIS and GPS Mapping and Watershed and Hydrologic Modeling. For more information about the Walker River Paiute Tribe project or about Huffman & Carpenter visit their website here.