Lakes Monitoring Schedule
2025 SAMPLE DROP OFF DATES
Please collect your samples on Sunday evening or early Monday morning before delivery to the lab. It is important that the lab receives the samples within 48 hours of collection time.
If your samples are being shipped by mail, please note that samples do not reach the lab until around 12 pm the following day.
ALL OTHERS
May 19
June 16
July 21
August 18
September 22
ASSOCIATION OF CASS COUNTY LAKES
June 2
June 23
July 28
August 25
September 29
COOLER PICK UP DAYS
- Ottertail COLA: Thursday, April 17th (5:00-7:00pm) at the Ottertail Community Center parking lot OR pick up at Detroit Lakes lab any time
- Douglas COLA: contact Douglas County SWCD office
- Hubbard COLA: Wednesday, May 14th (5:30-7:00pm) at the Park Rapids Chamber of Commerce parking lot
- Pope County: available for pickup at the Pope County Land & Resource Management office
- Association of Cass County Lakes: Friday, May 30th (8:00-10:00am) at the Cass County Land Office in Backus
The cooler pick up day is when you will pick up all of your supplies for the summer. We will also give a brief training and go over any new information you will need to know for the summer. If you are unable to make it to the training please contact us so that we can make other arrangements to get you the supplies you will need for the season. Please continue to check for more updates!
Online training is available on the RMB Lakes Monitoring Training webpage.
DISTRIBUTION PARTNERS
RMB Environmental Laboratories, Inc. has partnered with local municipalities, environmental agencies, and businesses throughout Minnesota to create a statewide network for access to water analysis. RMB couriers will provide delivery service to our lab using the schedule listed below.
This list includes drop-off locations that regularly accept Lakes Monitoring Program samples. The RMB courier service for the 2025 Lakes Monitoring Program costs
$21 per small cooler or
$31 per large cooler.
- Clearwater SWCD: 312 Main Ave South, Bagley MN (Mon-Thurs, 11am cutoff)
- Glenwood City Office: 100 17th Ave NW, Glenwood MN (Mon-Thurs, 11am cutoff)
- Itasca County Environmental Services (Courthouse): 123 NE 4th St, Grand Rapids MN (Mon-Thurs, 12:30pm cutoff)
- East Polk SWCD: 240 SW Cleveland Ave, McIntosh MN (Mon-Thurs, 9am cutoff)
- Hubbard County SWCD: 603 N Central Ave, Park Rapids MN (Mon-Thurs, 4pm cutoff)
- Cass SWCD (Courthouse): 303 Minnesota Ave W, Walker MN (CALL FIRST, Mon-Thurs, 2pm cutoff)
- Cook SWCD: more information coming soon
To view our full list of distribution partners, click here.
ADDITIONAL SHIPPING OPTIONS
Lake samples can be hand delivered to our Detroit Lakes, Burnsville, and Virginia laboratory locations during business hours, or shipped to the lab using SpeeDee Delivery.
On the scheduled lake sample drop-off dates, many COLA groups have volunteer drivers who deliver samples to the lab for their member lake associations. Contact us for more information.