Selecting a monitoring site
Monitoring sites are established by organisations for different reasons (see why we monitor and monitoring site purpose). Where you establish a monitoring site will depend on a range of questions. Some of these questions include:
- what are you measuring?
- is the location best able to get that data?
- is the location providing meaningful data?
- who will use the data?
- how fast do you need the data?
- how accurate do you need the data?
- how long will you need to measure at the site?
- what is the available budget for construction and ongoing costs?
- can you access the site when you need to?
- are there any local conditions that could affect the data?
Organisations establish sites in the best location available. Not all locations will meet the current or past monitoring needs by organisations. For example, some locations:
- are too expensive to monitor
- are too close to other monitoring sites
- are not easily accessible
- will provide low quality data
- may be flooded
- may be easily vandalised
Each organisation needs to operate within a monitoring budget. As such, each organisation makes a choice on the size of the monitoring network that best meets their current and future needs. This may result in some rivers and streams that have no ongoing monitoring.
Reviewed 09 July 2024