RIVER HEALTH

How well is the river doing? Low flows, exacerbated by more frequent droughts have degraded aquatic life and habitat quality in the Ipswich River and broader region. The goal of the RiverWatch monitoring program is to track trends in river health on a monthly basis. Over 50 volunteers monitor 32 sites on the Ipswich River and major tributaries in the Ipswich watershed. More recently, we began coordinating efforts with the Parker River Clean Water Association (PRCWA) and Chebacco Lake and Watershed Association (CLWA) to monitor sites in the Parker and Essex watersheds. All 3 watersheds contribute to Plum Island Sound and the Great Marsh Ecosystem. Volunteers measure dissolved oxygen, water temperature, specific conductance and chloride. Bacteria (E. coli) and nitrate were also monitored at selected sites in 2022. See the following Data Dashboard and River Health Index to explore water quality in this region.

Monitoring projects have been funded, in part, by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection Water Quality Monitoring Grant Program, New England Biolabs Corporate Donations Committee, the Bruce J. Anderson Foundation, the Merrimack Conservation Partnership Education and Outreach Grant Program and the Reading Cooperative Charitable Foundation. Special thanks to the many volunteers for their dedication and commitment to protect the waters of the Ipswich Parker and Essex River watersheds!