Baseline Water Monitoring
Building the tools to care for your local waterways.
Did you know there are thousands of waterbodies across Canada that need your help? By helping scientists collect baseline data, we can notice when things go wrong and work together to solve water’s biggest problems.
We imagine a world where every waterbody’s community has the tools they need to take care of them. Plus, every lake, river, or stream should have enough data to know whether or not they are healthy. Our ability to design beautifully integrated water testing experiences means that our tools are easy-to-use and accessible. That means custom water quality testkits, an open-data platform to manage data, and specially designed resources so that anyone can get started.
We were founded at the Aquahacking challenge in 2015. Here’s a quick 2-minute video that explains a bit about ‘why we are’ and what our platform can do.
Baseline Water Monitoring
Understanding your water starts with a strong foundation
Healthy water means a healthy ecosystem, and it all begins with knowing your baseline. Baseline water monitoring helps communities, researchers, and stewards understand what’s normal for their local waterways so they can spot changes early and take action when it matters most.
What is baseline monitoring?
Baseline monitoring means collecting regular data on water quality indicators such as temperature, pH, conductivity, dissolved oxygen, and clarity over time. These results create a picture of your water’s usual conditions.
Once you know what’s normal, you can recognize when something’s off, whether it’s pollution, runoff, an algal bloom, or seasonal changes.
Why it matters
- Track changes over time: Build a local record of how your water behaves seasonally or year to year.
- Detect problems early: Notice unusual trends before they become major issues.
- Empower your community: Share results and observations to support science-based decisions.
- Contribute to a bigger picture: Your data connects to regional and national efforts to protect freshwater.
How to get started
Water Rangers makes baseline monitoring simple and accessible. Our testkits, training, and online data platform are designed so anyone can collect and share reliable data, whether you’re part of a lake association, Indigenous community, school group, or just a curious local.
- Get your testkit – Tools for easy, accurate water testing.
- Train yourself or request training support – Learn how to sample safely and confidently.
- Log your results – Upload your findings to our open data platform to track changes over time.
Together, we build knowledge for cleaner water
Every test adds to a growing understanding of Canada’s freshwater health. By taking part in baseline water monitoring, you’re helping protect the places you love, one test at a time.