Teach & Test
West Basin is a sponsor of the Surfrider Foundation South Bay chapter’s Teach and Test Program. The program is an extension of the Blue Water Taskforce, Surfider Foundation's volunteer-run, water testing, education and advocacy that allows high school students to volunteer to monitor water quality in the Santa Monica Bay by collecting and processing water samples.
During the program, students collect, prepare and analyze water samples bi-weekly from September through May. Water samples are gathered at 21 coastal locations. Then they are transported, processed, and analyzed under the guidance of an experienced laboratory technician. When the enterococci bacteria levels of each water sample are analyzed, the bacteria level results are published to an online database run by the Blue Water Task Force to protect public health.
The goal of the program is to maintain and improve water quality monitoring, and educate the public about water quality conditions in the South Bay.
To learn more about this program or how to volunteer, please contact West Basin Education Coordinator Janel Ancayan at 310-660-6253 or JanelA@westbasin.org.