Monitoring and Compliance · Sampling Plans
What Is Chain of Custody for Water Samples?
A sample's identity must stay clear from the moment you collect it until the lab tests it. The label and form link a unique ID to the location, date, time, collector, sample type, tests requested, and any preservative or field notes.
Chain of custody records who had the sample and when it changed hands, when formal custody is required. Each person who hands off or receives the sample signs as the procedure directs. Seals, coolers, shipping records, and lab receipt checks support that history.
If the custody record has a gap, the lab or the agency may reject the result. Then you resample, and a missed deadline can become a violation. Page 59 covers how to correct a record.
Before handoff, compare every bottle with the form and the plan. Fix missing, duplicate, or mismatched IDs while the collector can still confirm the facts.
Key point: Labels and custody records create an unbroken, truthful link between the water collected and the result reported.
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Water Treatment Part 3: Monitoring, Control and Compliance
This page comes from the course. It covers sampling, plant lab tests, online instruments, chemical feed math, process control, storage and distribution handoff, drinking water rules and records, and emergencies, one step at a time, with short knowledge checks and a certificate of completion.
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