Local river watchdogs will have additional tools at their disposal through a state grant intended to provide water-quality monitoring equipment for the Deerfield and Connecticut rivers.

The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection has awarded the Connecticut River Conservancy and Deerfield River Watershed Chapter of Trout Unlimited grants of $66,500 and $26,007, respectively, to purchase equipment used to monitor several water quality indicators, including the pH, turbidity (cloudiness), salt levels, temperature and water flows, as they study the health of the region’s rivers.

The Connecticut River Conservancy plans to use the money to buy equipment and supplies, and support travel and staff salaries to monitor for E. coli and nitrogen. Ryan O’Donnell, the organization’s water quality program manager, said some of the funds will allow the conservancy and its subgroups to continue their bacteria-monitoring program and test water for E. coli. Those subgroups are the Deerfield River Watershed Association, the Fort River Watershed Association and the Chicopee 4Rivers Watershed Council.

O’Donnell said the program during the summer enables employees to collect weekly or biweekly samples, usually near high-traffic spots like boat ramps and swimming holes, and post the results online at ctriver.org/isitclean to let people know if the water is unsafe. The Connecticut River Conservancy also submits this information to the state so it can be used in assessments.

O’Donnell said the $66,500 also will be used to purchase equipment so the water’s nitrogen levels can be analyzed at the conservancy’s 15 Bank Row laboratory.

“Nitrogen in particular is a big problem in Long Island Sound, which is where the water ends up,” he said.

O’Donnell explained high nitrogen levels can lead to algae overgrowth, which in turn leads to a lack of oxygen in the water. He mentioned the Connecticut River Conservancy is exploring opportunities to fund remedies for high nitrogen levels. He said, for example, a buffer can be planted near fertilized farmland to absorb nitrogen from rain runoff before it enters the river. O’Donnell said fertilizer is high in nitrogen.

Trout Unlimited

“Our mission is to protect the Deerfield River … and it’s really right up our alley,” Eric Halloran, president of the Deerfield River Watershed Chapter of Trout Unlimited, said of creating a more in-depth monitoring program. “We’re definitely really excited about it.”

Halloran said Trout Unlimited has consistently measured temperature, but a deeper look into the conditions of the Deerfield River and its tributaries, such as the North River, Rice Brook, Bear Brook and Clesson Brook, will allow the nonprofit to better monitor the ecosystem for small changes, which often have an outsized effect.

“We’ll use the measurements that we do to inform our science-based conservation projects,” he said. “It gives us the capacity to measure incremental change, so we can monitor these sites on the river and see how things change over time. … If there is some kind of event, we can respond to it and understand what the implications are in actual numbers.”

Trout Unlimited will be placing cameras to take photographs of the water level and will share that data with MassDEP, as well as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. In a similar collaborative vein, the organization will also be working with Mohawk Trail Regional School to give students some hands-on experience in their backyard.

“It’s exciting that we’re going to be able to contribute to the body of knowledge of water quality,” Halloran said.

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