Community Science InstituteCommunity Science InstituteCommunity Science InstituteCommunity Science Institute
  • About Us
    • Meet Our Staff
    • Meet Our Board of Directors
    • CSI’s DEI Statement
    • Annual Reports
    • CSI Frequently Asked Questions
    • CSI in the Media
    • Contact Us
    • Employment Opportunities
  • News & Events
  • Get Involved
    • Volunteer With Us!
    • Monitoring Partnerships
      • Harmful Algal Bloom Monitoring on Cayuga Lake
      • Synoptic Sampling
      • Biological Monitoring
      • Owego Creek Tributaries Monitoring Project with Trout Unlimited
      • Past CSI Monitoring Programs
        • Red Flag Monitoring
    • Outreach and Education
      • Journey of Water
        • Learning Materials
      • CSI News and Monthly Updates
      • The Water Bulletin Newsletter
      • CSI’s Public Comments & Testimonies
      • Public Events and Presentations
      • Publications
      • Events
  • Test Your Water
    • Potable and Non-Potable Water Tests & Fees
    • Water Testing FAQs
    • Instructions for Collecting and Submitting Water Samples
    • Drinking Water Resources for the General Public
    • Water Testing Assistance Program
  • Water Quality Data
    • Database Home
    • Streams and Lakes Data
      • Cayuga Lake Region
      • Seneca Lake Region
      • Upper Susquehanna River Region
      • Select and Download Streams and Lakes Data
    • HABs Database
      • Select and Download Cayuga Lake HABs Data
    • Pre-Fracking Groundwater Baselines
      • Select and Download Groundwater Baselines
    • Biological Monitoring Results
    • Glossary
  • Donate
    • CSI’s Business Membership Program
    • 2026-2027 Business Membership Partners
    • 2025-2026 Business Membership Partners

Join Here!

Support our efforts to partner with communities to protect water by making a donation, becoming a member, or renewing your membership today!

Become a Member today!

is to inspire and empower communities to safeguard water resources by cultivating scientific literacy through volunteer water quality monitoring, certified laboratory analyses, and education.

Community Science Institute's Mission

Visit the Database

This public archive contains water quality data from Western NY stream and lake samples collected by local volunteer partners. These partnerships generate reliable, long-term data, supplement state monitoring efforts, and inform water resource management strategies while cultivating scientific literacy.

CSI's Water Quality Database

Learn More!

CSI is the largest certified laboratory—and the only nonprofit lab—in Tompkins County. In addition to our nonprofit monitoring programs, we provide fee-based water analysis services for residents, businesses, and government agencies.

Test Your Water

Learn More!

By engaging young learners and families in place-based, hands-on experiences, Journey of Water builds the knowledge, confidence, and sense of responsibility needed to care for local watersheds today and into the future.

Journey of Water

Click here to report a HAB!

Since 2018, Community Science Institute has led a volunteer-driven, community-powered harmful algal bloom monitoring program around Cayuga Lake that blends rigorous science, open data, and strong local partnerships to ensure timely and accurate HAB reporting.

Cayuga Lake Harmful Algal Bloom Monitoring

Click here for more info!

Biological monitoring (or biomonitoring) is a fun, affordable, and effective approach to stream monitoring. It is a process of looking at a biological community in order to assess the overall “health” of an ecosystem such as a stream.

Biological Monitoring

Click here for more info!

This volunteer partnership is CSI’s longest-running volunteer water monitoring program, beginning in 2002 in the Fall and Virgil Creek watersheds!

Synoptic Stream & Lake Monitoring

Who We Are

Nonprofit Organization

CSI, founded in 2000, is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization and New York State Department of Health Environmental Laboratory Approval Program (NYSDOH-ELAP) certified water testing lab.

Fee-for-Service Water Testing Lab

CSI operates a state-certified laboratory that analyzes stream, lake, and drinking water for key quality parameters—producing regulatory-grade data that informs water resource protection while also serving the testing needs of local residents, businesses, and organizations.

Volunteer Monitoring

We partner with volunteers across Central New York to collect stream and lake samples for analysis at our certified Ithaca lab, generating critical data to guide sustainable water management while engaging communities as informed stewards of their shared water resources.

Water Quality Database

CSI operates a state-certified laboratory that analyzes stream, lake, and drinking water for key quality parameters—producing regulatory-grade data that informs water resource protection while also serving the testing needs of local residents, businesses, and organizations.

Outreach & Education

Through our Outreach and Education initiatives we inform the public about water quality issues, facilitate conversations among diverse stakeholders, and engage the next generation of scientists, activists, and environmental stewards.

Recent News

  • From Community Report to Regulatory Action: How One Cayuga Inlet Observation Triggered a Rapid Scientific Response

    By Grascen Shidemantle | 0 comment

    CSI’s Outreach & Programs Coordinator, Alyssa Johnson, collects a sample from Cliff Brook Park on 4/23/26. On April 23, CSI received anRead more

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  • Upcoming Harmful Algal Bloom Presentations

    By Alyssa Johnson | 0 comment

    What Lurks in the Lake? From Reports to Reality: Making Sense of Harmful Algal Bloom Data Dive into the world of harmfulRead more

  • CSI’s 2026 Data Jam: Investigating Local Water Quality

    By Alyssa Johnson | 0 comment

    Come with a question —or discover one on the spot— and take part in an engaging exploration of community-generated water quality data!Read more

  • No Fish Too Big, No Macroinvertebrate Too Small: A Celebration of Interdisciplinary Environmental Science

    By Jared Thomas | 0 comment

    The SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF) held its first annual meeting of their University Chapter of the American FisheriesRead more

  • Why we volunteer as HAB Harriers

    By Alyssa Johnson | 0 comment

    Please enjoy this article written by one of CSI’s longterm HABs Harriers, James Edwards. This article was first included in the 7thRead more

  • Save the Date: “HAB-by Hour” at Cayuga Shoreline

    By Alyssa Johnson | 0 comment

    Read more

Events

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Connect With Us

The Community Science Institute
Langmuir Lab Building, Box 1044
95 Brown Rd. Ithaca, NY 14850

(607) 257-6606
info@communityscience.org

Support Our Work

Donate

Recent Posts

  • From Community Report to Regulatory Action: How One Cayuga Inlet Observation Triggered a Rapid Scientific Response

    CSI’s Outreach & Programs Coordinator, Alyssa Johnson, collects a sample from Cliff

    Loading

    6 May, 2026

  • Upcoming Harmful Algal Bloom Presentations

    What Lurks in the Lake? From Reports to Reality: Making Sense of

    5 February, 2026
Copyright 2007-2026 Community Science Institute
  • About Us
    • Meet Our Staff
    • Meet Our Board of Directors
    • CSI’s DEI Statement
    • Annual Reports
    • CSI Frequently Asked Questions
    • CSI in the Media
    • Contact Us
    • Employment Opportunities
  • News & Events
  • Get Involved
    • Volunteer With Us!
    • Monitoring Partnerships
      • Harmful Algal Bloom Monitoring on Cayuga Lake
      • Synoptic Sampling
      • Biological Monitoring
      • Owego Creek Tributaries Monitoring Project with Trout Unlimited
      • Past CSI Monitoring Programs
        • Red Flag Monitoring
    • Outreach and Education
      • Journey of Water
        • Learning Materials
      • CSI News and Monthly Updates
      • The Water Bulletin Newsletter
      • CSI’s Public Comments & Testimonies
      • Public Events and Presentations
      • Publications
      • Events
  • Test Your Water
    • Potable and Non-Potable Water Tests & Fees
    • Water Testing FAQs
    • Instructions for Collecting and Submitting Water Samples
    • Drinking Water Resources for the General Public
    • Water Testing Assistance Program
  • Water Quality Data
    • Database Home
    • Streams and Lakes Data
      • Cayuga Lake Region
      • Seneca Lake Region
      • Upper Susquehanna River Region
      • Select and Download Streams and Lakes Data
    • HABs Database
      • Select and Download Cayuga Lake HABs Data
    • Pre-Fracking Groundwater Baselines
      • Select and Download Groundwater Baselines
    • Biological Monitoring Results
    • Glossary
  • Donate
    • CSI’s Business Membership Program
    • 2026-2027 Business Membership Partners
    • 2025-2026 Business Membership Partners
Community Science Institute
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