Save the Sound’s John and Daria Barry Foundation Water Quality Lab recently received certification by the Environmental Laboratory Approval Program (ELAP) of the New York State Department of Health-Wadsworth Center, a significant accomplishment for a lab owned and operated by a non-profit environmental advocacy organization. New York ELAP is an approved accrediting authority under the National Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Conference Institute.
The intensive certification process required evaluation in all of areas of the lab’s work, including the establishment of new standard operating procedures, record-keeping practices, and quality control assurances for the proper use and maintenance of laboratory equipment. After months of assessment through paperwork submissions and in-person audits, Save the Sound has received certification for six analytes, two in the Bacteriology category (fecal coliform, E. coli) and four Nutrients (ammonia, nitrate-nitrite, orthophosphate, phosphorus). The data generated by processing those analytes can now be accepted and utilized by the Department of Health when conducting Clean Water Act assessments of waterbodies in New York. Save the Sound continues its work on the certification of additional analytes.
The John and Daria Barry Foundation Water Quality Lab, built in 2021 and opened in 2022, analyzes water quality samples collected during Save the Sound’s annual fecal bacteria monitoring program in the western Long Island Sound. The program’s 11th season concluded earlier this month; seasonal results will be released later this fall. Weekly results from the 2024 season, as well as from all previous seasons, are available on Save the Sound’s website.
The lab also is used to process samples collected by Save the Sound and 26 partners groups for the Unified Water Study, which measures the ecological health of 46 bays and harbors around the margins of Long Island Sound. These results, along with field data, are used to create bay grades, which are released in Save the Sound’s biennial Long Island Sound Report Card; the 2024 Long Island Sound Report Card will be released on October 10.
“Achieving ELAP certification was our goal when we built this lab,” said Peter Linderoth, director of water quality for Save the Sound. “We have always strived to produce high-integrity data in our lab. It’s remarkable how much more we’ve added to our record-keeping, our quality controls, and our procedural work going through this certification process. This certification is a testament to our team’s commitment to our laboratory operations.”
“This accreditation ensures that there is heightened accuracy, reliability, and traceability in the data being produced,” said Elena Colón, laboratory manager for Save the Sound. “Our data is so important to all the work that we do. We share the data results on our website and in our reports so that municipalities, agencies, and environmental organizations can identify problems and work to address them. We use these data to guide and support our advocacy work to protect water quality in Long Island Sound.”