Water Testing Plans

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=160 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B><IMG SRC="24af46b0.jpg" border=0 width="500" height="107" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">   </B></div> <div> <A HREF="id125.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="MISSION"><U><B>MISSION</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id127.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="WHAT TO DO?"><U><B>WHAT TO DO?</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id132.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="JOIN CUSH"><U><B>JOIN CUSH</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id135.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="POLLUTION SOURCES"><U><B>POLLUTION SOURCES</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id136.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="MEDIA"><U><B>MEDIA</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id137.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="WATER TESTING"><U><B>WATER TESTING</B></U></A><B>    </B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#006666" FACE="Book Antiqua" ><B> </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="CUSH HOME 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BORDER="10" CELLPADDING="8" CELLSPACING="5" WIDTH="682" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#CC9933" BORDERCOLORDARK="#006666" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFFFFF HEIGHT= 1696 WIDTH="634"><div> <B><U>WATER TESTING PLANS</U></B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Water Testing Invitation & Plans</B></div> <div> (March 2008)</div> <bR> <div>      <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Times New Roman" ><I>CUSH invites you, as residents, to join with other volunteers in a fun learning experience that will  have a real impact on the quality of  our precious local waters.  In return for a commitment of 1-2 hours a week during the warm-weather months (May through October), you will have the satisfaction of:</I></FONT></div> <div> <I>learning the science of our coastal waters, coves, and estuaries</I></div> <div> <I>learning new skills and procedures for collecting  scientifically rigorous water quality  data, which will be made available to the Town, the State, the EPA, and  private citizens, to aid in  developing  sound public policies</I></div> <div> <I>knowing that you have contributed to the long-term understanding of area waters and to the development of best practices for keeping them healthy</I></div> <div> <I>If you are intrigued, please review our plans below then call Claire Gavin, Chair of the CUSH Water Testing Committee, at (860) 535-3978 or e-mail her at </I><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="javascript:void" TARGET="_top" TITLE="javascript:void"><U><U>CandEGavin@aol.com.</U></U></A></FONT><I> </I></div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>The Problem</B></div> <div>      The Stonington area currently has little agriculture or heavy industry.  Yet long time residents, fishermen, and swimmers became acutely aware of increased turbidity, fecal solids, and algae in the harbors during the 1990s.  Public outcry led to minor upgrades in three local sewage treatment plants, with plans for $28 million in upgrades now at the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) awaiting approval.  While water clarity has visibly improved, there continues to be a decline in eel grass as well as fish, horseshoe crabs, and other marine life.  Clearly, we need a better understanding of what causes these problems and how to reverse them.</div> <div> Within the Town of Stonington are three villages - Mystic, Stonington Borough, and Pawcatuck - bordered by the Mystic and Pawcatuck Rivers.  The area contains seven watersheds:  Anguilla Brook, Copps Brook, Mystic River, Pawcatuck River, Shunock River, Southeast Shoreline, and Whitford Brook.</div> <div> Bacteria are monitored at beaches by the Town Sanitarian, over some shellfish beds by the Stonington Shellfish Commission, and in the Pawcatuck River by Save the Bay; shellfish are tested by the DEP every three years via the Department of Agriculture/Bureau of Aquaculture; and water quality parameters are monitored at the Pawcatuck River gauging station by the US Geological Survey.  The Town Engineer has the resources to test eight representative storm drains once a year.  What is missing is any wide scale monitoring of the shoreline and its tributaries to provide baseline data, long-term water quality trends, identification of polluting hotspots, and the information needed to track pollutants to their source.  </div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>Pollution Sources</B></div> <div> Primary sources of pollution are believed to be nutrients, mostly nitrogen, originating from inadequately treated sewage effluent and “spills,” over-fertilized lawns, boat waste discharges, storm drains, septic system leachate, and waste from pets and wildlife.  Large, tended lawns may also contribute unknown pesticide and herbicide residues, especially with increasing residential population and development. </div> <div> Storm runoff from town centers, strip malls, and high-density residential areas is captured in storm drains and delivered to surface waters via outfall pipes, most of which are mapped.  Testing effluent from outfalls and their receiving waters is an efficient means of monitoring the effect of storm water on harbor quality.  We believe that volunteer testing will be a valuable addition to the limited annual data collected by the Town.<I> </I> </div> <div> The Town of Stonington Wastewater Facilities Plan<FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Times New Roman" > </FONT>identifies seventeen neighborhoods along the shoreline or the rivers in which septic systems may be inadequate, based on soil type and topography.  No water quality monitoring is currently being conducted in these areas. </div> <div> CUSH proposes to fill this information gap with weekly and monthly water quality<I> </I>monitoring of sites chosen for their pollution potential. </div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>CUSH Water Testing Program</B></div> <div> The CUSH Water Testing Committee Chair is Claire Gavin, a retired senior researcher from the pharmaceutical industry, in collaboration with CUSH Vice-President, Kathryn Burchenal, a former cancer researcher, and CUSH President, Gracelyn Guyol.  They will be working closely with<I> </I>the University of Rhode Island's Watershed Watch (URIWW) program, to train water testing volunteers who will begin monitoring up to 12 sites this summer.  URIWW was founded 20 years ago and now directs 30 volunteer water testing organizations utilizing 250 volunteers (www.uri.edu/ce/wq/ww/).   The URI laboratory is certified.  The organization's data is highly respected and used by the Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Environmental Protection (CT), and Department of Environmental Management (RI). <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Book Antiqua" >  </FONT></div> <div> The heart of the URI Watershed Watch consists of weekly monitoring by trained volunteers.  Each sponsoring organization pays to participate in the program.  URIWW provides all monitoring equipment, supplies, and training, as well as laboratory analyses, data analysis, and data management/reporting for a fee of $600 per site per season (May-October). </div> <div> Under the URIWW, CUSH volunteers will collect water samples in Stonington harbors along the Town of Stonington shoreline from up to 12 sites in 2008.  Testing parameters will include ammonia and nitrate-nitrogen, phosphorus, algal density (chlorophyll-a), water clarity (Secchi depth), and bacteria (fecal coliform and enterococci).  Samples will be analyzed in the URIWW certified laboratory, and data will be<I> </I>stored on the URIWW website.  Weather conditions for 48 hours before and after sampling will be included in the data file.</div> <div> The 2008 water testing budget of $10,000 includes funding for URIWW testing and training, plus additional funds for incidentals and tests not covered under the URI program, such as tests for organophosphate pesticides, chlorinated herbicides, semivolatiles, hydrocarbons, metals, or other substances.  The water testing program will be continued for several years to provide scientific documentation of changing harbor conditions and clues to remediation. </div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>Data Use and Sharing</B></div> <div> Data will be provided to civic leaders to support any needed regulatory changes and, via local publicity, to help residents understand how their personal stewardship can contribute significantly to the quality, productivity, and beauty of our harbors.  All data will be posted to the URIWW web site, making it available to other water testing organizations and researchers<I> </I>studying Long Island Sound and Fishers Island Sound.   CUSH plans also include creation of a historical water testing data base, entering information from previous harbor studies conducted by a variety of organizations to help build a framework in which to view current data.  This too will be on-line and available to researchers. </div> <bR> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <div> <B>Restoring Stonington Harbors to Pristine Condition</B></div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>