Water quality is very important to monitor. The diversity of aquatic plants and animals are affected by pollution and changes in chemical, biological, and physical characteristics of the water and environment.
Some important aspects to look at when examining water quality are:

• Indicator species
  
• pH
  
• Nitrate
  
• Phosphate
  
• Water Temperature
  
• Biochemical Oxygen Demand
  
• Dissolved Oxygen
  
• Turbidity