Since I spend so much time on the water I’ve always appreciated the organizations who keep track of the quality of our waterways and push for water quality improvements. Merrimack River Watershed Council is one of those groups. Their motto is “The Voice of the Merrimack”, which is fitting since they are tuned in to everything that goes into the Merrimack river from source to sea.
I recently contacted MRWC to see if they needed any help with water quality monitoring here in Lowell. After a few discussions we realized there was a section of river downstream of Pawtucket dam down to the Lowell wastewater treatment facility that they were unable to access with their motorboat monitoring vessel. This same stretch is where I SUP all year long, rain/snow/shine, so I knew I could help gather data from my board! Below are some photos of the first SUP Water Quality Monitoring trip that we know of.
I loaded my backpack with all the gear, including bacterial sample bottles and a cooler to keep them chilled for the transport back to EPA, a nifty (and pricey!) water chemistry computer that recorded Dissolved Oxygen, pH, turbidity, etc., and a GPS to mark the location where the samples were taken.
Taking samples at Beaver Brook. The glove is to keep any bacterial contamination from my hand from getting into the water sample.
Heading downstream from Beaver Brook towards Aitken St. bridge. I collected samples from three locations: Beaver Brook confluence, Concord River confluence and below the wastewater treatment facility.
Looking forward to doing this again next month! Check out their website for results of the water monitoring.
