View of Essex Island Marina during discrete water quality sample collection near 01194750 location.
Water Quality Sampling in the Tributaries of the Long Island Sound
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By New England Water Science Center
January 12, 2022
Coastal estuaries in southern New England and New York show the effects of excess nutrients and coastal eutrophication. These include excessive growth of macroalgae, excessive blooms of phytoplankton, oxygen depletion, hypoxia and deteriorated substrates. State and Federal regulators have responded to these nutrient-caused impairments by requiring more stringent permit limits for National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System discharges as waterbody and watershed information indicated they were needed.
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Long Island Sound (LIS) is one such local waterbody which has been the subject of countless water quality studies over the years. The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), have designed a study which focuses on the nutrient contribution of the 3 major tributaries to LIS (Housatonic, Connecticut and Thames Rivers). This annual but seasonally focused study specifies frequently scheduled discrete water quality samples be collected at numerous established locations along each of the estuaries. Samples are analyzed for whole water and filtered forms of nitrogen, phosphorus, carbon and chlorophyll a. Continuous water quality is also being monitored for water temperature, specific conductance, pH, dissolved oxygen, turbidity and chlorophyll just above the mouths of each of these rivers.
This project serves to follow upon and enhance the current monitoring for nutrients in the Lower Connecticut River since 2017 being done by EPA.
Below are other science projects associated with this project.
Base-Flow Water Quality Sampling in Small Basins Draining to Long Island Sound
During the past 20 years, nitrogen loads to Long Island Sound (LIS) have been substantially reduced in large watersheds affected by municipal wastewater loads.
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.
Nutrient Loads from the Upper Connecticut River Watershed
River-borne nutrients, especially nitrogen, contribute to water-quality degradation in Long Island Sound. The Connecticut River is the largest tributary to the Sound, and quantification of nutrient loads from the three upper States in the watershed, as well as the State of Connecticut, is essential for prioritizing efforts to improve the Sound’s water quality.
View of Essex Island Marina during water quality sample collection
View of Essex Island Marina during discrete water quality sample collection near 01194750 location.
Coastal estuaries in southern New England and New York show the effects of excess nutrients and coastal eutrophication. These include excessive growth of macroalgae, excessive blooms of phytoplankton, oxygen depletion, hypoxia and deteriorated substrates. State and Federal regulators have responded to these nutrient-caused impairments by requiring more stringent permit limits for National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System discharges as waterbody and watershed information indicated they were needed.
Media
Sources/Usage: Public Domain. View Media Details
Long Island Sound (LIS) is one such local waterbody which has been the subject of countless water quality studies over the years. The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), have designed a study which focuses on the nutrient contribution of the 3 major tributaries to LIS (Housatonic, Connecticut and Thames Rivers). This annual but seasonally focused study specifies frequently scheduled discrete water quality samples be collected at numerous established locations along each of the estuaries. Samples are analyzed for whole water and filtered forms of nitrogen, phosphorus, carbon and chlorophyll a. Continuous water quality is also being monitored for water temperature, specific conductance, pH, dissolved oxygen, turbidity and chlorophyll just above the mouths of each of these rivers.
This project serves to follow upon and enhance the current monitoring for nutrients in the Lower Connecticut River since 2017 being done by EPA.
Below are other science projects associated with this project.
Base-Flow Water Quality Sampling in Small Basins Draining to Long Island Sound
During the past 20 years, nitrogen loads to Long Island Sound (LIS) have been substantially reduced in large watersheds affected by municipal wastewater loads.
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.
Nutrient Loads from the Upper Connecticut River Watershed
River-borne nutrients, especially nitrogen, contribute to water-quality degradation in Long Island Sound. The Connecticut River is the largest tributary to the Sound, and quantification of nutrient loads from the three upper States in the watershed, as well as the State of Connecticut, is essential for prioritizing efforts to improve the Sound’s water quality.