Why Is Ongoing, Scientific Water Monitoring So Important?

One water sample is like a snapshot.  It only captures what is going on in the water at that moment.  Results can be dramatically different depending on time of day, tides, depth, temperature, rainfall, events occurring on land adjacent to the water, or even hurricanes thousands of miles away. To establish any sort of reliable record takes several seasons of monitoring the same things at the same time and depth, to confirm what is “normal” for that location.  Only consistent water quality data can be relied upon by policy-makers to help them identify potential sources of contamination and take action to improve local water quality.  

What We Monitor

Mid-May through mid-October, volunteers test biweekly for dissolved oxygen, temperature, salinity, and algal density (chlorophyll a). Why?  Because many prized species of aquatic life are very sensitive to decreased oxygen, increased temperature, and/or changes in salinity.  Both plants and animals suffer when algal blooms block sunlight and ultimately deplete dissolved oxygen levels. Monthly, we test for nutrients (phosphorus and nitrogen), pH (acidity), and fecal bacteria.  Why?  Because nutrients feed the algal blooms, aquatic life thrives within a limited range of pH, and fecal bacteria signal the presence of pathogens.

New Sampling in 2011

  1. Regular monitoring at four additional sites, two each in Pequotsepos and Wequetequock Coves.
  2. Unscheduled monitoring of bacteria and nutrients after significant rainfall, concentrating on the coves and the streams and ditches that feed them.
  3. New tests in collaboration with academic researchers:  metals and other pollutants in bottom sediments (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution), pesticides in surface waters (University of Connecticut), and identification of human fecal bacteria (Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies).
  4. Participation in local water-quality initiatives by providing before-and-after monitoring data:
    • On Anguilla Brook, the source water for Wequetequock Cove, dam removal and installation of a fish passage.
    • At Dodson’s Boatyard in Stonington harbor, a project to install a sediment filter in the stormdrain system directing runoff from 55 acres into the harbor.
    • In Lambert’s Cove, effects of railroad bridge construction on water quality and newly established eelgrass beds.
    • At Murphy’s Point in Mystic Harbor, the long-term water-quality impact of the Mystic Wastewater Facility’s new BioMag system.     

 

We thank these people for making all this possible in 2011.  Water Testing Committee: Claire Gavin, Sally Cogan, Gerry & Jackie Hokanson, Frances Hoffman.  Volunteers: Charlie Buffum, Adrienne den Tex, Kim Donahue, Mike Charnetsky, Don Charbonnier. Nancy Howell-Fielding, Jon Mitchell, Julia Parry, David Moore, Pam McGee, Carol Pearson, Sue Piver, Tom Sanford. Bob Scala, Mark & Greg Sugar.


2011 CUSH Testing Sites:

2011 CUSH Testing Sites Map
Restoring Sound & Harbors to Pristine Condition