EPA’s Research Vessel Lake Guardian Begins 40th Annual Sampling of Great Lakes

source: epa.gov

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s largest research vessel, the Lake Guardian, has begun its annual spring sampling survey of water quality and biological life in the Great Lakes. This year marks the 40th anniversary of EPA’s spring and summer water quality surveys in the Great Lakes. In 1983, EPA started annual sampling in Lakes Michigan, Huron, and Erie; Lakes Ontario and Superior were added to the annual survey thereafter.

The Great Lakes National Program Office’s water quality and biology monitoring surveys help EPA fulfill its monitoring and assessment commitments as specified in the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement between Canada and the United States and in the U.S. Clean Water Act. The Lake Guardian is funded by the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, launched in 2010 to accelerate efforts to protect and restore the world’s largest system of fresh surface water. Contact Allison Lippert (lippert.allison@epa.gov) for more details on how to get involved. •