Exciting Updates to Water Quality Work in the Mystic River Watershed

Greetings to the Alliance allies interested in Water Quality in the Mystic River Watershed! 

The Alliance has two exciting updates to share and is seeking members interested in helping with freshwater sample collections in the Mystic River Watershed!

We're excited to share that the Alliance has been selected to participate in the Pathogen Monitoring Network (PMN) initiative, operated by Harbor Watch at Earthplace in lovely Westport, CT. Their mission is “Protecting the Long Island Sound estuary and the Connecticut waters that feed it.”  The Alliance’s role in this initiative is in freshwaters of lakes and streams flowing into the Mystic River. The Alliance will be testing for the presence of Escherichia coli (E. coli), an intestinal bacterium that is sometimes linked to issues with septic systems or leaking sewers. As part of this program, we’ll collect water samples every two weeks and send them to the URI Watershed Watch Lab for analysis. The majority of this testing will take place in the serene freshwater of Long and Bush Ponds, which are nestled in the northern region of the Mystic River Watershed, with additional sites on Williams Brook and downstream in Whitford Brook north of Old Mystic.

We’re also excited to share the wonderful news about the gift of a shared Bacteriology Lab setup for the the use of the Alliance, CUSH , and Wequetequock Cove Clean Water Coalition / ECCD . A huge thank you goes out to Save the Sound’s Long Island Soundkeeper Bill Lucey for his dedicated efforts in turning this dream into a reality! We also want to express our heartfelt gratitude to First Selectman Danielle Chesebrough and Tom Curioso, Deputy Director of Public Works, for providing the “gift” of a space in Stonington that will contribute to our work on our Watershed Regeneration Action Plan–a comprehensive care plan for our waterways and the communities who depend on them.

The Alliance’s purpose in the Stonington lab is to conduct “surveillance” bacterial testing in the Mystic River watershed. Each of us will play a key role in this kind of testing, which can take place in either saltwater, brackish water, OR freshwater, after a storm, or where residents have identified “sites of concern” for indications that a certified testing protocol is necessary. 

What can you do? If you're one of the many who’ve expressed interest in water quality, we have exciting news—sampling in the Mystic River Watershed is officially underway, and we’re thrilled to get started!

We are looking for volunteers interested in helping with 

• freshwater sample collection for regular Pathogen Monitoring at URI, 

• transporting PMN samples to the University of Rhode Island in Kingston, Rhode Island, and 

• Sample collection and/or processing the “surveillance” tests at our in-house Stonington BacLab facility.  

Please SAVE THE DATE for MAY 5, 11a-2p, for an in-person training with Save the Sound’s Elena Colon and Ameera Khan to learn about sample processing in the Stonington BacLab. Additionally, we will host a Zoom meeting soon to gather everyone and share details and plans for our 2025 water quality sampling season!  Stay tuned…

If you are interested in volunteering with water quality testing, please respond with your interest to betsy@alliancemrw.org.

With appreciation for you and your willingness to learn what the water is telling us!

Betsy Graham, 

Alliance for the Mystic River Watershed Board,

Director, Water Quality Team

Lantern Hill Valley Alliance Board

Betsy@AllianceMRW.org