PulseCheck

Every result shows the date and time the sample was collected. Results reflect one sample, collected at a specific place and depth, and analyzed by an independent accredited laboratory using the method listed on this page. Lake conditions change across a lake and over time, sometimes within hours, in ways a single sample may not capture. Every method has detection and reporting limits; where the laboratory provides them, they are reported with your results. A detection is not a diagnosis, and a non-detection does not prove absence. Results are not a regulatory or compliance determination unless the agency involved accepts them as one. Results can help you make decisions about safe swimming and water use, but no result is definitive for every place and time. It is always good practice to check posted signs and your state or local health authorities. Recommendations are options to consider; decisions, and responsibility for any action taken, rest with you.

Every result shows the date and time each sample was collected. eDNA and eRNA detect genetic material, not organisms directly. DNA can persist after an organism has left or died, and can arrive from upstream or on boats, birds, or bait. Read counts reflect relative genetic signal, not the number, size, or biomass of organisms. Species names depend on reference-library coverage; some detections resolve only to genus or family. A detection is evidence to follow up, not confirmation that a population is established, and a non-detection does not prove absence. These are not EPA-approved methods and are not a regulatory determination.

Every image shows the date it was captured. Satellite products are derived from reflected light recorded as a satellite passes over your lake. Values are relative indices, not laboratory concentrations, and cannot identify an organism, a toxin, or a pollutant. Cloud, haze, sun glint, shallow water, and shoreline effects can distort or hide the signal, and small lakes, narrow arms, and coves may fall below the image resolution. Conditions can change within hours of a pass. The absence of a detected bloom does not mean the water is safe.

Every reading and observation shows the date it was collected. Field values are made by you or your members, at the place and time recorded, and depend on the instrument, the observer, light, weather, and technique. They are not laboratory analyses. Observations, such as Lake Tag presses or microscope sightings, are reports, not verified identifications. Lake Pulse records what is submitted; it does not independently verify each entry.

Every reading is time-stamped as it is recorded. Readings come from one sensor at one location and depth; conditions elsewhere in the lake can differ, sometimes sharply and within hours. Sensors drift, foul, and occasionally fail, and readings between maintenance and calibration visits may be affected. Gaps in the record are shown as gaps, never filled in. Sensor values are field measurements, not laboratory analyses. Alerts are notifications of a reading, not a safety determination.