Help / FAQ

–  Common Questions  –

When is the Secchi Dip-In?

The Dip-In is the whole month of July, in concurrence with Lakes Appreciation Month. However, we gladly accept data from outside of the “official” Dip-In dates.

Why not get transparency data directly from the program?

We solicit transparency data from volunteers rather than from monitoring programs for a number of reasons, including:

  • Lack of volunteer monitoring programs geographically.
  • Lack of staff to solicit data.
  • Transparency is not our only object of interest. We request additional data, which most programs do not ask. Examples include:
    • Volunteer perceptions on what problems exist in lakes they observe.
    • Volunteer perceptions of changes in water quality.

Why register?

Registering allows the user to edit his or her submitted data. Providing contact information helps Secchi Dip-In be in touch with volunteers if there are any issues during the data submission process.

How do I recover a forgotten username and/or password?

If you are registered and forget your password:

  1. Access the Log-in page.
  2. Click on “Forgot Your Password?“
  3. Follow the prompts to create a new password.
  4. If you forgot your user name and password, write to us.

We didn’t use passwords before 2010, so volunteers entering data for the first time since the end of 2009 will need to register in order to enter or edit data.

I’m confused: How can I better navigate the Secchi Dip-In website?

The best approach is to first enter as a Guest and look around, become familiar with the site before registering. We are constantly working to make the website and data-entry process more user-friendly.

Does the Dip-In accept data from streams and rivers?

We accept information from most bodies of water, including rivers and streams. Simply type in the name of your stream (it may already be on the list of monitored sites), enter your program site designation, and (most importantly!) provide your site’s longitude/latitude coordinates.

How do I add a body of water that I sampled to the Secchi Dip-In database?

Adding a body of water to the database:

  1. Log in to your account.
  2. Click on “Manage Profile”, located in the upper right hand corner of the screen.
  3. Click the “Next” button.
  4. Choose “Add New Lake to System”.
  5. After you have entered all of the appropriate information, press “Submit“.

Add sampling data for the lake you just added:

  1. Access the “Manage Profile” page and click “Next“.
  2. Choose “Add Lake to Profile“
  3. Return to the Dip-In Data-Entry page, select the appropriate body of water, and click “View/ Edit Data”.
  4. Click “Add Sample”.
  5. Provide all appropriate identification information (especially latitude/longitude coordinates!) and your sampling data.

Do we have to enter more than one day’s data?

While we welcome all data entries, we certainly realize data entry is time-consuming and don’t require entry of multiple samples or multiple sites. The more data we receive, the better we can examination variability in sample data and other methodological topics of interest.

Where is the Enter Data button?

When entering data in the form, you see the note to press the Enter Data button to submit the data. If you look at the bottom of the page, there is no button. The button is on the last page of the questionnaire, where it says Efforts and Submit.

How can I get additional assistance with entering data?

If data entry isn’t going smoothly, write us and we will do our best to straighten everything out. If all else fails, there is a downloadable paper form that has most of the same questions as on the site. Simply send the form to us and we’ll enter the data for you (as time permits).

How do I correct previously entered data?

Write to us and we will help you to correct the old data.

Additional Questions

If you haven’t found an answer to your question on this page, contact us at secchidipin@nalms.org.