eqilab.org

The Environmental Quality Institute (EQI) is a nonprofit laboratory dedicated to improving understanding of water quality and supporting environmental decision-making in western North Carolina. Since 1990, EQI has worked with volunteers, local governments, nonprofit organizations, schools, and communities to monitor streams and lakes across 17 mountain counties and seven river basins. Its state-certified laboratory conducts monthly chemical testing, while trained volunteers contribute to two monitoring programs.

The Volunteer Water Information Network (VWIN) measures chemical and physical properties, including pH, nutrients, conductivity, and turbidity. The Stream Monitoring Information Exchange (SMIE) tracks aquatic invertebrates each spring and fall, helping reveal changes in water quality and habitat over time. EQI also provides technical support, volunteer training, educational opportunities, and publicly accessible water quality data through its online map and portal, including information from monitoring conducted after Hurricane Helene.

EQI shares reliable, objective findings with more than 30 partner organizations and agencies. Its data supports watershed planning, conservation and restoration efforts, funding decisions, youth education, and community involvement, with the goal of enabling local solutions that improve regional waterways.