Education/Outreach

 

Goals and Objectives of the Niantic River Watershed Committee

One of the main goals/objectives of the Niantic River Watershed Protection Plan (NRWPP) is to raise stakeholder awareness and involvement by implementing a watershed management information and education campaign.  This involves implementing education and outreach programs that include:

  • Increasing stakeholder awareness about the link between shellfish bed closures and sources of bacterial pollution in the Niantic River.
  • Increasing stakeholders’ level of knowledge about nutrient loading and the health of the Niantic River Estuary.
  • Educating land use decision makers about the value of vegetated riparian buffers in the protection of water quality.
  • Establishing an outreach and tracking program for landowners about on-site septic system maintenance.
  • Partnering with other local groups to develop and implement a comprehensive education and outreach program addressing water quality and watershed management issues.
  • Developing targeted outreach activities and materials (click here for this list).

 

 

Outreach

The Education/Outreach Subcommittee has been working on several ways to get information out to the public by creating a PowerPoint presentation that can be used at workshops, lectures, or conferences that we develop/attend.  We also designed a Niantic River Brochure to quickly inform people about our organization and what a difference they can make.

 The Education/Outreach Subcommittee (part of the Niantic River Watershed Committee) has begun work on recommendations set out by the NRWPP.  The following is a list of the Education/Outreach conducted within the watershed since 2008.

Outreach 2008

Outreach 2009

Outreach 2010

 Clean Marinas Program 

Connecticut’s Clean Marina Program is a voluntary program that encourages inland and coastal marina operators to minimize pollution.  The program also recognizes Connecticut’s marinas, boatyards, and yacht clubs that go above and beyond regulatory compliance as “Certified Clean Marinas.” Visit the CT DEP Clean Marinas webpage, http://www.ct.gov/dep/cwp/view.asp?a=2705&q=323530&depNav_GID=1635, for more information.

Congratulations to Three Belles Marina and Port Niantic Marina, which became certified “Clean Marinas” in 2010!!!

  

Save the River-Save the Hills Pumpout Boat

Congress passed the Clean Vessel Act (CVA) in 1992 after finding that there were an inadequate number of onshore sewage disposal facilities in waters frequented by recreational boats and determining that these vessels may be contributing substantially to localized degradation of water quality. The primary goal of the CVA is to reduce overboard sewage discharge from recreational boats. The CVA provides funds to states for the construction, renovation, operation, and maintenance of pumpout stations for holding tanks and dump stations for portable toilets. 

Niantic Watershed partner Save the River-Save the Hillsoperates a pumpout boat in the Niantic River. The pumpout boat can be contacted by:

Phone: 860-287-2774
Radio: VHF Channel 68 
Online Request for Pumpout
Services Available: Free pumpout boat
Months/Hours of operation: Memorial Day-Labor Day; Fri-Mon, 9AM-5PM. After Labor Day, Sat-Mon, 9AM-5PM

Niantic River Pumpout Boat

  

Education

In order to evaluate how our young students are learning about the environment around them, we developed a questionnaire for teachers (K-12) to fill out.  We have used their submissions to understand where schools need help with their environmental curriculum and what we can do to assist them.

Many teachers requested assistance with  teaching watershed and water quality concepts. As a result, the Education & Outreach Subcommittee has been developing a Water Quality Kit which will be available for loan to teachers located in East Lyme, Montville, Salem and Waterford schools. The water quality loan kit  will contain the test kits and materials necessary for students to test fresh and saline waters for nitrogen (as ammonia, nitrate and nitrite), pH, phosphate (PO4), dissolved oxygen, salinity and temperature.  A variety of test types were chosen to allow students to learn different testing techniques, including colorimetry (adding a reagent to a sample and matching the resultant color to a standard), titration (counting the number of drops of a reagent added to a solution before a color change occurs), and direct reading from equipment such as thermometers.   The subcommittee recommends that a fresh water and a saltwater site be visited so that parameters such as salinity, dissolved oxygen, and temperature from each site can be compared.  The kit will also include nets, buckets and hand lenses so students can gather fauna and compare between freshwater and marine species. Please contact Watershed Coordinator Judy Rondeau  at 860-887-4163, extension 401 for more information.

 

Go Natural for the Niantic – Landscaping for Water Quality

Visit our Landscaping for Water Quality page to learn how the Watershed Committee and Local Nursery and Landscaping Businesses are partnering to help homeowners beautify their properties while improving water quality!

 

 

The Niantic River Watershed Website is funded in part by the CT DEEP through a US EPA Nonpoint Source grant under §319 of the Clean Water Act.