Pioneer Valley
Planning Commission
Media Release
CONTACT: Patty Gambarini, Pioneer Valley Planning Commission, (413) 781-6045
Andrea Donion, Connecticut River Watershed Council, (413) 772-2020, x205
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 5, 2011
Volunteers Sought for Connecticut River Water Quality Monitoring
The Pioneer Valley Planning Commission (PVPC), in partnership with the Connecticut River Watershed Council (CRWC) and Water Resources Research Center at the University of Massachusetts, is seeking volunteers to participate in a water quality monitoring project on the Connecticut River and its tributaries. Water quality monitoring will be done in Hampden, Hampshire, and Franklin counties.
Eight locations along the mainstem of the Connecticut River will be monitored on a weekly basis. Volunteers will be asked to go to a site each Wednesday first thing in the morning, collect a sample, and bring it to the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission’s office in Springfield.
The monitoring project—now in its fourth year—results in water quality data that provides a more complete picture of the river’s health and understanding about sources of contamination. Water quality information is posted shortly after sampling at http://www.umass.edu/tei/mwwp/ctrivermonitoring.html and is 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.
Sites on the river’s mainstem where volunteers are needed are:
- Pioneer Valley Yacht Club, Longmeadow
- Pynchon Point Park, Agawam
- North End Bridge/Bassett Marina Boat Launch, Springfield
- Medina Street Boat Ramp, Chicopee
- Davitt Bridge, Chicopee
- Berchulski Fisherman Access Site, Chicopee
- Jones Ferry Boat Ramp, Holyoke
To volunteer for mainstem sampling, please contact Patty Gambarini at PVPC,
(413) 781-6045, ext. 333 or pgambarini@pvpc.org.
CT River Water Quality Sampling—2
In addition to sampling on the Connecticut River’s mainstem, bacteria sampling and possible source tracking will be done on several tributaries in Northampton, Deerfield, Greenfield, and Gill/Montague. Volunteers will need to have a flexible schedule that allows them to go out into the field and collect five to 10 samples during dry weather on weekday mornings. Sampling will be conducted to try to identify sources of bacteria, and will take place as weather allows.
To volunteer for tributary sampling, please contact Andrea Donlon at CRWC at
(413) 772-2020 ext. 205 or adonlon@ctriver.org.
To prepare for the water quality sampling, volunteers can attend one of two training sessions scheduled for Thursday, April 21, 5:30 p.m. at the Jones Ferry River Access Center, Jones Ferry Road, in Holyoke (training geared to weekly main stem sampling) or Tuesday April 26, 5:30 p.m. at the offices of the Connecticut River Watershed Council, 15 Bank Row, in Greenfield (training geared to tributary sampling).
This year’s water quality monitoring project is funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under a Targeted Watershed Initiative grant and with Federal Funds from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (the Department) under an American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 Section 604(b) Water Quality Management Planning Grant. The contents do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of EPA or of the Department, nor does the mention of trade names or commercial products constitute endorsement or recommendation for use.