Charles River water quality monitoring workshop

I went with CRWA’s watershed scientist, Julie Wood to the second Charles River water quality monitoring workshop, which was held in the EPA regional office in Chelmsford. Different speeches were given about Charles River water quality, and CRWA presented E.coli monitoring results, and historical analysis of water quality impairments due to E.coli and cyanobacteria in the Lower Charles River Basin. CRWA has a daily water quality flagging program, which presents the daily flag colors of the river's health. These flag colors signify whether or not the river is safe for boating at ten boating locations from Watertown to Boston. Flag colors are based on bacteria levels, blue-green algae counts (formally known as cyanobacteria), and rainfall-based prediction models. A blue flag indicates suitable boating conditions; a red flag indicates potential health risks.

The Ecology and Impacts of Toxic Cyanobacteria has been reviewed by Professor James Haney, from University of New Hampshire. Cyanobacteria have lived on earth for 3.5 billion years. This long term survival may illustrate Cyanobacteria’s robust adaptation to the numerous climate and condition changes. “One of the common blue-green algae found in the Charles River is Microcystis, which grows naturally in calm, warm, shallow water that is rich in nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorous). Microcystis secretes a toxin when it dies, and accumulations of this toxin can pose a health risk to humans and animals”.

In addition to attending workshops and focusing on water quality issues, I am also working on Charles River watershed maps using ArcGIS. We are integrating, analyzing and summarizing different spatial data from the watershed, such as land-use, census and wetlands data to facilitate easier access and data retrieval in the future to aid CRWA’s work to conserve the Charles River. Although, I began working on GIS and Remote Sensing on 2003 and I worked as team director for various Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) and site selection projects in my home country (Iran), technology is changing so quickly, and because of these changes, I am trying to update my GIS knowledge by interning with CRWA and attending available GIS courses.