Water Quality Testing
“Is the river safe to swim in?” We get that question a lot. Unfortunately, the absence of regular monitoring of waterways by state and local agencies makes it a question that’s frustratingly difficult to answer. From top to bottom, federal agencies and municipal governments have failed to provide programs and facilities to collect and disseminate critical water quality information to health officials, the public, and the media. Week-to-week, month-to-month--even annually, information on our rivers is completely missing. The result is that we may be unknowingly wading into tainted water, and swimming, paddling, and fishing in rivers riddled with untreated effluent or other toxins. So, in Massachusetts in 2007, CRWC literally stepped into the breach.
What We Are Doing About Water — now, and into the future
At CRWC we’re testing, building, and involving the public. We believe up-to-date water quality information is a right. In the summer of 2007 our volunteers collected the first baseline data on turbidity, conductivity, temperature, and dissolved oxygen, to begin our water quality testing program. We returned in 2008 and sampled four sites along the Connecticut River: the Pioneer Valley Yacht Club in Longmeadow; Jones Ferry at the public boat launch in Holyoke; Sportsman's Marina in Hadley; and Barton Cove in Gill.
Two sites on the Fall River in Greenfield were also sampled. They are upstream and downstream of a “big box” development currently slated for a site near that Connecticut River tributary. With our baseline data, plus the future accumulating results from annual testing, we will be able to further press our case for enforcement of Clean Water Act standards. We hope to expand and help establish water quality programs in communities throughout the watershed.
Download our 2007 Water Quality Monitoring Annual Report (PDF 0.5MB)
Download our 2008 Water Quality Monitoring Annual Report (PDF 0.5MB)
A community water quality testing lab at Headquarters
A big step toward fulfilling that goal includes our plans for a community water quality testing lab at headquarters. CRWC already has basic blue prints for the facility. We’re now working with partners on funding and grants. But donations will be critical to the success of this project. And this is a critical project. Simply put, local community water quality testing labs don’t exist. Samples need to be tested promptly. Results a week late are not useful. A lab will enable us to answer the question—is the river safe to swim in? They will tell us whether kids are safe wading into rivers; whether the dog should cool off in a particular stream; and whether it really is a good day for fishing or kayaking. It always should be.
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Photo credits (above): CRWC Staff
Image Credits at Right - Illustrations: Bill Singleton; Photos: Elisabeth Cianciola, David Deen, ©Chris Hardie, ©Al Braden www.albradenphoto.com, River Music drawn by Tom Dudley - Greenfield Recorder, CRWC Staff.
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