Al Braden 2008
Partnership Activities...
How Are We Protecting the Watershed?
Establishing A Salmon River Watershed Partnership...
In 2007, the Watershed Towns assisted by The Nature Conservancy launched the Salmon River Watershed Partnership (SRWP). The SRWP has, with the input of river stakeholders, developed a regional action plan to collaboratively conserve the Salmon River system, while supporting the long term social and economic vitality of the communities in the watershed.
Signing A Conservation Compact...
In 2008, the leaders of the Watershed Towns met to sign The Salmon River Watershed Conservation Compact. The compact signifies the intent of all the watershed communities to work togetehr to protect the resources of the watershed.
Addressing Impacts of Development...
In 2009, the Horsley Witten Group, Inc. was contracted by The Nature Conservancy to assess municipal land use practices in the Watershed Towns. With the input of the town planners and SRWP an Assessment Report was released in 2010 entitled Salmon River Watershed Municipal Land Use Evaluation Project. The report provided guidance and recommendations to each of the towns on topics including riparian setbacks, stormwater management, road design options, forest management, open space acquisition and development review standards. Since then each of the towns have reviewed its procedures and standards and implemented changes as time and circumstances allow. The town planners continue to meet periodically to share updates and set new goals to protect the watershed.
Monitoring Water Quality....
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River Bioassessments
In 2008, under the guidance of The Nature Conservancy and with the assistance of the CT RiverWatch Program, the SRWP sponsored a training session for volunteers for benthic macroinvertebrate sampling (collection and identification of small animals that live in the water which have no backbone and are large enough to see without magnification). After training, sampling was conducted at various points in the watershed. Macroinvertebrates are used in water quality monitoring since the presence or absence of specific "bugs" can be a good indicator of the presence or absence of pollutants and other stressors. Monitoring was continued in the fall of 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 and just completed for 2013. Results to date indicate that the water from the streams that make up the Salmon River Watershed complex are of high quality.
2022 CT-DEEP-Rapid Bioassessment in Wadeable Streams and Rivers by Volunteers
2021 CT-DEEP-Rapid Bioassessment in Wadeable Streams and Rivers by Volunteers
2020 CT-DEEP-Rapid Bioassessment in Wadeable Streams and Rivers by Volunteers
2019 CT-DEEP-Rapid Bioassessment in Wadeable Streams and Rivers by Volunteers
2017-2018 CT-DEEP-Rapid Bioassessment in Wadeable Streams and Rivers by Volunteers
Rapid Bioassessment Monitoring for Volunteers - Power Point
https://ctdeep.maps.arcgis.com/apps/MapSeries/index.html?appid=9265f117579546678b70ff9dbd6d0854
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Baseline Water Quality Monitoring
In the summer of 2013, the SRWP initiated baseline water quality monitoring in the watershed. Due to the size of the watershed, a northern route and southern route were each laid out and sampled for 10 consecutive weeks. Data was collected for temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, conductivity, total dissolved solids and salinity. Monitoring was conducted again in 2014 which provides some basis for comparison and trends between segments.
2023 Baseline Water Quality Monitoring Appendix
2023 Baseline Water Quality Monitoring Report
2018-2021 Baseline Water Quality Monitoring Report
2018-2019 Baseline Water Quality Monitoring Report
2013-2016 Baseline Water Quality Monitoring Report
2013-2015 Baseline Water Quality Monitoring Report
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Temperature & Conductivity Stream Loggers
SRWP partners with DEEP Water Quality Monitoring and Fisheries Department to document summer stream temperatures using HOBO loggers. Loggers take hourly readings and are launched in 10 locations throughout the watershed in the spring and then are retrieved in the fall where the data is downloaded and added to watershed temperature mapping to compare with local land-use (link below). The SRWP also partners with GZA, Inc. Green Team to manage 8 conductivity loggers throughout the year and sites are selected for monitoring after consultation with the towns and various state departments for any areas of concern. Data is shared with DEEP and USGS.
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