Description:

City of Somerville, Massachusetts, in collaboration with Tufts University and the Mystic River Watershed Association, proposes this project that combines advanced technology for real-time water quality and meteorological monitoring with sampling of bacterial levels to develop a model that anticipates river conditions in the Mystic River Watershed of Massachusetts, especially after heavy rains. The real-time data, water quality indices and model-generated water quality predictions will be made available to the public via the internet as well as color-coded flags at riverfront sites. The predictive model will enhance standard water quality monitoring by providing a way to anticipate bacterial levels that ordinarily require 24 hours to assess, leaving citizens in this dense and heavily polluted river basin with inadequate information about water safety. In a setting where river use has been on the rise, despite polluted conditions, this project offers potential river users a new level of information and informed choice.

Objectives/Hypotheses:

The project objectives are:

1. To collect data on water quality indicators—fecal coliform, enterococcus, DO, turbidity—along with data on depth, temperature, pH, conductivity and meteorological conditions in real-time to develop an "early warning" water quality forecasting model.
2. Present real-time and timely water quality data and information to the public using the Internet, color-coded flags, a variety of other printed and visual materials in several languages, and regular advisories in local print and broadcast media. The presentations will interpret the data into indices useful for everyday decisions about contact with the water.
3. Make recreational users and watershed residents aware of the real-time and timely data, indices and model available through this project. The focus is on reaching a large segment of the public, including those without easy access to the internet, to stimulate interest in finding and using the information from the project.
4. Inform watershed residents about the connections between human behavior and water quality through educational efforts that emphasize the value of this information for personal decisions and community health.

URLs/Downloads:

URL

2002 Progress Report

Final Progress Report

Record Details:

Record Type:PROJECT( ABSTRACT )

Start Date:10/01/2001

Completion Date:09/30/2003

Record ID: 57802

Show Additional Record Data

Related Organizations:

Role :OWNER

Organization Name :CITY OF SOMERVILLE

Mailing Address :93 Highland Avenue

Citation :City of Somerville

State :MA

Zip Code :2143



Role :OWNER

Organization Name :TUFTS UNIVERSITY

Citation :Medford

State :MA

Zip Code :2155



Role :OWNER

Organization Name :MYSTIC RIVER WATERSHED ASSOCIATION

Mailing Address :20 Academy Street, Suite 203

Citation :Arlington

State :MA

Zip Code :2476



Role :OWNER

Organization Name :HARVARD GRADUATE SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCE

Citation :Cambridge

Project Information:

Approach :

The project uses an innovative application of advanced real-time and timely data collection to create a predictive model for water quality combined with extensive outreach to familiarize the public with the information generated and how to use it.

Cost :$427,969.00

Project IDs:

ID Code :R829338

Project type :EPA Grant