Pollutant Load Analysis

Pollutant Load is the quantity of a pollutant that is being transported by a stream at a specific location and over a specific period of time. Knowing this helps watershed managers to know where the more significant sources of a pollutant are originating from. It is calculated as:

"Instantaneous" reflects that we are there for a short period of time (e.g. 30 minutes) making the measurement, so the load value is valid for that instant of time. Since our volunteers are typically not sampling during storm conditions, the averages of our measures may under-estimate the true annual pollutant load for that location. Note: Discharge refers to the volume of water flowing over a fixed period of time.