Monitoring
Monitoring Group
Measurement of water quality throughout the watershed is not currently standard practice. Improvements may be made through Best Managment Practices (BMPs) and planning changes, but without practical measurement techniques, it becomes difficult to measure, monitor, and adjust. Monitoring and inspection programs, which are making great progress, are underway in the Towns of Waterford and East Lyme, but the potential for future development is the greatest in the upper reaches of the watershed.
Among the goals and objectives of the Niantic River Watershed Protection Plan (NRWPP), one is to improve water quality and biological monitoring for the Niantic River and its tributaries. This includes the establishment of a comprehensive long-term water quality monitoring program for the Niantic River Watershed.
The Monitoring Subcommittee (part of the Niantic River Watershed Advisory Committee) has completed a Niantic River Watershed data management outline and has started compiling all current and historical water quality data and biological surveys pertaining to the Niantic River. All of this data will be available to those who desire it at the Waterford Public Library in the coming months. They are also in the process of forming a Water Quality Subcommittee for Quality Assurance that consists of several people with a scientific background (if you are interested in being a part of this group, please contact Judy Rondeau).
As the group progresses, they will select/develop an electronic data management system to input/tabulate new water quality data since most places that have water quality data/biological surveys work on different data management systems. This way, there will be a comprehensive and standard template for people to use to compare all the data on the Niantic River. Then, eventually, the Monitoring Subcommittee will prepare water quality data graphs and evaluate the long-term trends of the Niantic River.
Some work has already been done on this, including John Jasper’s preliminary biogeochemical assessment of the Niantic River and his evaluation of eelgrass in the Niantic River. Also, to view the data that’s been collected so far by the Monitoring Subcommittee, please click here.