Volunteers are provided with equipment and training to collect and process lake water quality samples 8 times each season. Volunteers also take temperature and water clarity measurements in the field at each sampling event. The sampling and processing takes about an hour.

Processed samples are stored by the volunteer until LMVP staff collect them for analysis at the University of Missouri's Limnology Laboratory. At the lab, samples are analyzed for total phosphorus, total nitrogen (plant nutrients), chlorophyll concentration (an estimate of algal biomass) and inorganic suspended solids (sediments).