Pioneer Valley
Planning Commission

Eric Carle Museum, Amherst, MA

Press Release

CONTACT: Pooja Kanwar, University of Massachusetts Water Resources Research Center, (413) 545-5979
Patty Gambarini, Pioneer Valley Planning Commission, (413) 781-6045

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 9, 2009

Volunteers Sought for Connecticut River Water Quality Monitoring

The Water Resources Research Center at the University of Massachusetts and the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission are seeking volunteers to participate in a water quality monitoring project on the Connecticut River.

A training session to prepare volunteers will be held Tuesday, May 19 (time and location to be announced). The monitoring season will begin Thursday, May 21 and will continue twice weekly through the summer. Monitoring responsibilities at each site will be shared by volunteers. 

Four Massachusetts sites in the southern stretch of the Connecticut River will be monitored: Six Flags Park in Agawam, Pynchon Point Park in Agawam, Jones Ferry in Holyoke, and Brunelle’s Marina in South Hadley.

The monitoring project, which includes a total of 26 sites along the river from Agawam, Massachusetts, to Hartford, Vermont, will examine water temperature and bacteria. Data will provide a more complete picture of the river’s health and understanding about sources of contamination. This information will be useful not only for recreational users who have direct contact with the waters, but for local, state, and federal officials in addressing combined sewer overflow discharges and stormwater flows.   

The water quality monitoring project is one of 10 Connecticut River projects funded under a Targeted Watershed Initiative grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

To volunteer for this project, call Pooja Kanwar of the Water Resources Research Center at (413) 545-5979.