Surface Water Quality Monitoring in Connecticut
The 2,983 miles of streams in Connecticut support a range of uses, including drinking water, recreation, and fish and shellfish habitat. The State is required by the Clean Water Act to assess the health of these waters every two years.
To assist the State in meeting this requirement, and support long-term assessment of water quality trends, the USGS operates a surface water quality monitoring network in the State. Stream basins are sampled on a rotating basis, in cooperation with the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. In Fiscal Year 2018, sampling is being conducted at stations on the Thames, Connecticut, Quinipiac, Housatonic, and Southwest Coastal watersheds. USGS procedures for quality assurance and quality control are followed, and the QA/QC results are reported. The following analytes are will be sampled, analyzed, and reported:
- Field parameters (water temperature, specific conductance, dissolved oxygen, pH, turbidity, and alkalinity)
- Total and dissolved nutrients (11 analytes)
- Total organic carbon
- Indicator bacteria (E-coli)
- Major ions (9 analytes)
- Dissolved trace metals (15 analytes)
Below are publications associated with this project.
Nutrient, organic carbon, and chloride concentrations and loads in selected Long Island Sound tributaries—Four decades of change following the passage of the Federal Clean Water Act
Below are partners associated with this project.
The 2,983 miles of streams in Connecticut support a range of uses, including drinking water, recreation, and fish and shellfish habitat. The State is required by the Clean Water Act to assess the health of these waters every two years.
To assist the State in meeting this requirement, and support long-term assessment of water quality trends, the USGS operates a surface water quality monitoring network in the State. Stream basins are sampled on a rotating basis, in cooperation with the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. In Fiscal Year 2018, sampling is being conducted at stations on the Thames, Connecticut, Quinipiac, Housatonic, and Southwest Coastal watersheds. USGS procedures for quality assurance and quality control are followed, and the QA/QC results are reported. The following analytes are will be sampled, analyzed, and reported:
- Field parameters (water temperature, specific conductance, dissolved oxygen, pH, turbidity, and alkalinity)
- Total and dissolved nutrients (11 analytes)
- Total organic carbon
- Indicator bacteria (E-coli)
- Major ions (9 analytes)
- Dissolved trace metals (15 analytes)
Below are publications associated with this project.
Nutrient, organic carbon, and chloride concentrations and loads in selected Long Island Sound tributaries—Four decades of change following the passage of the Federal Clean Water Act
Below are partners associated with this project.