The selection of bacteria monitoring sites depends on the ultimate purpose of the data. If the data are to supplement state efforts, then the program should choose sites based on gaps in the state's array of monitoring stations. Areas of suspect contamination not routinely monitored by state officials should receive the highest priority. If data will serve as regulatory compliance documentation, sites should cluster near dischargers believed to be in noncompliance. State health or water quality agencies can provide information on where additional data are needed.
Managers are more likely to use the data if volunteers monitor more than one site.
Volunteers should monitor bacteria on a weekly or biweekly basis. In areas where volunteers sample primarily to assess the health risks in seasonal areas such as bathing beaches, monitoring can cease or be conducted much less frequently during cold weather months. Sampling to determine possible contamination of shellfish beds, however, should continue on a regular basis throughout the harvesting season. Some citizen monitoring programs use volunteers to conduct the lab analysis of fecal coliform bacteria. For these reasons, programs just starting up or those without ad equate lab facilities should strongly consider allowing a professional, university, or other lab facility run the bacterial analyses.