Home > Managing A Watershed > Assessing Water Quality

"For many of us, water simply flows from a faucet, and we think little
about it beyond this point of contact. We have lost a sense of respect for the wild river,
for the complex workings of a wetland, for the intricate web of life that water supports."
- Sandra Postel, Last Oasis: Facing Water Scarcity, 2003.

Identifying the problem is half the battle. The Association has developed a successful, largely community-based program of training volunteers, collecting data, and identifying sources of water quality impairments. The Association then utilizes that data in conjunction with other information to identify ways of protecting and improving water quality.

Grab your hiking boots, journal, pencil, camera, and a friend and you're almost ready. As a water monitoring volunteer you have the power to turn a leisurely stroll along your community waterway into an expedition that will help protect and preserve precious natural resources for generations to come. Measuring the health of our local streams, rivers, and lakes enables us to track where problems exist.

A graphic representation of the Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed, the subwatersheds that we have been studying and our monitoring sites

Water monitoring is only one of the ways that the Association assesses water quality. Our Watershed Reconnaissance provides an overview of the current state of water quality and water quantity. We also conduct Watershed Assessment that provides a detailed analysis of subwatersheds and offers recommendations on the appropriate tools to protect or restore our waters when necessary. The Association has also participated in a collaborative study on
wetlands to better understand how these native habitats can be utilized to improve water quality.

This assessment of our watershed becomes a plan for municipal officials, businesses, and homeowners that can be implemented to keep our waters clean.