It’s so nice when we hear that adults who were Upper Merrimack Monitoring Program volunteers have gone on to higher education and careers in water sciences and other natural resource fields. Here’s a great post from Stephanie Lynn, whose father Gary is a long-time Bug Nights veteran.

The Upper Merrimack River Local Advisory Committee and St. Paul’s School are proud to co-host the presentation “Bones of Stone: How New Hampshire’s Geology and Glaciology Formed the Granite State” by Michael Caduto as part of the UMRLAC’s Winter Community Program and SPS’s Birckhead Science Lecture Series.

About the event

Eons before people arrived in New Hampshire, the forces of nature sculpted the land. Continents collided. Seas opened and closed. Mountain ranges rose and fell. Each wave of rock that broke upon these shores left a fragment behind—a piece of the fascinating geologic puzzle we now call New Hampshire. The last glacier transformed the landscape before melting back about 14,000 years ago. Through story, slides, and discussion Michael Caduto shows how the dynamics of New Hampshire’s geology and glaciology have impacted the landforms, environments, and land use patterns of the terrain we see today.

About the presenter

Michael J. Caduto—author of A Time Before New Hampshire: The Story of a Land and Native Peoples (University Press of New England)—is known internationally for his entertaining, dynamic presentations of science, culture, storytelling, song and stewardship. His popular books include Pond and Brook: A Guide to Nature in Freshwater Environments, the Keepers of the Earth® series, Earth Tales from Around the World and Native American Gardening. Michael’s latest books are Riparia’s River(Tilbury House Publishers) and Catch the Wind, Harness the Sun: 22 Super-Charged Science Projects for Kids (Storey Publishing), which recently won the Teacher’s Choice Award. His other awards include the Aesop Prize, NAPPA Gold Award, Storytelling World Honor Award, New England Environmental Educator Award and New York State Art & Literary Award. In 1984 he founded P.E.A.C.E®—Programs for Environmental Awareness & Cultural Exchange—to promote Earth Stewardship and cultural diversity.  He has traveled throughout North America, Europe, and the Middle East presenting performances, workshops, and keynotes to more than 400,000 people.

The event will be located at St. Paul’s School in the Lindsay Center Lecture Hall on the campus off Pleasant Street in Concord. A campus map may be viewed at  https://www.sps.edu/ftpimages/36/misc/misc_83154.pdf

Light refreshments are provided by the Upper Merrimack River Local Advisory Committee and St. Paul’s School beginning at 6:45 PM. The event will begin promptly at 7:00 PM. This event is made available free of charge and open to the public but space is limited so please register by clicking here. For further information, please contact Michele L. Tremblay, Chair, UMRLAC at 603.796.2615 or UMRLAC@MerrimackRiver.org.

Elizabeth Franz from the Concord Monitor came to visit Bug Nights last night and created a short story and photo essay. Click here to see more and learn how you can join the fun next week.

A nice article about how a natural resource = a world class recreational site = economic development. http://www.concordmonitor.com/sports/15046041-95/in-franklin-annual-kayak-run-gives-way-to-talk-of-urban-renewal

Dear River Friends,

All sites sampled yesterday are well below the Class B standard of 406 E. coli colony counts per 100 millitres of water. All sites except for Sites 2 and 6 are below the designated swim beach standard of 88 colonies. While we have had lower results over the years, these are still great for a large river that serves multiple uses including receiving treated sewage water.

When not immediately following significant rains, this stretch of the Merrimack watershed that we sample compares really well with lower reaches and other large rivers in the state. This is a great end of season sampling result and you should feel comfortable having fun in the river this weekend.

Thank you to our intrepid and faithful volunteers, our Adopt-a-River Site sponsors, Franklin Waste Water Treatment Plant, and our couriers, this year, Bill Dawson and Anne Emerson.
—

Michele L. Tremblay, UMMP Program Director
and
Steve Landry, Sampling Supervisor
Upper Merrimack Monitoring Program
Upper Merrimack River Local Advisory Committee
http://www.merrimackriver.org/

Dear River friends, The weather should be sunnier and drier this weekend and while the water may be a bit high from the near daily rains, the good news is that the E. coli counts will be low. Thanks to our wonderful water quality monitoring volunteers and our partners at the Franklin Waste Water Treatment Plant, we have received the results of yesterday.

Click here for the for the full spreadsheet: ecoli2014. The bottom line: Have fun on the river this weekend! All of our eleven sites this week are well below not only the Class B standard for the Merrimack River but also Class A waters / designated swim beaches. Class B waters must safely support swimming, fishing, boating, and drinking with treatment. Class A / designed swim beaches is an even stricter standard required for state parks and municipal swim areas and privately owned recreational beaches. As always, never hesitate to contact us should you have any questions.

Very best wishes for a wonderful weekend on the Merrimack,

—
Michele L. Tremblay, UMMP Program Director
and
Steve Landry, Sampling Supervisor
Upper Merrimack Monitoring Program
Upper Merrimack River Local Advisory Committee http://www.merrimackriver.org

Dear river friends,

It’s a mixed bag this week for E. coli results. We have 549.3 colonies of E. coli per 100 millitres (exceeding the Merrimack’s Class B standard of 406) on Site 5, just behind the Merrimack State Forest, in Boscawen to a low of 31.3 on Site 1 on the Pemigewasset River just above its confluence with the Winnipesaukee River. In between we have a few higher-than-normal results as well as some respectable ones. ecoli2014 7.24.14 to download this week’s (and those of the two previous sampling days’ ) results or take a quick load at this graphic provided by UMRLACer Madeleine Mineau.

Once, again, the message is, “When it rains; it’s poor” (see our 6.23.14 post). That means that when there are heavy rains or snow melt, everything on the land and road surfaces goes into the nearest storm drain (flushing untreated into rivers and streams) or directly down river banks into the water.

There are some very high and fairly low results this week. That could be due to some areas that were flushed during the last rain storms and have not accumulated a lot new bacteria. We test for E. coli because it is present in the digestive tracts of  animals, including humans, so it is the best indicator available that tells us that poop is getting into the water, among other pollutants.

Please visit the beta version of our new forum at http://www.MerrimackRiver.org. We are posting these updates and testing results and welcome your comments.

As always, never hesitate to contact us should you have any questions.

Very best wishes for a watery weekend,
—
Michele L. Tremblay, UMMP Program Director
and
Steve Landry, Sampling Supervisor
Upper Merrimack Monitoring Program
Upper Merrimack River Local Advisory Committee
http://www.merrimackriver.org/

Dear river friends,

The results for this week’s monitoring: ecoli 7.10.14 are far better than our last report for samples taken on June 26. All eleven of our sites’ E. coli counts fall well below the state’s Class B standard of 406 colonies per 100 millilitres. All but two sites fall within the Class A or designated swim beach standard of 88 colonies per 100 millilitres. This is one of the main differences between monitoring during or just after rainfall (June 26) and dry weather monitoring (July 10). You may recall from our last message that “when it rains; it’s poor,” meaning water quality suffers when rain washes off the land excrement from failed septic systems, pet areas, and agricultural operations.

You will notice that Site 2 is far higher than the other sites this week. While its value is still well within the Class B range, it is far and away higher than the other ten sites. If this happens consistently, we may sample above and below it (called “bracketing the site”) to determine the source of the bacteria. The last time that we did this, we found a sewage pipe that was discharging directly in to the Pemigewasset River. We worked with the City of Franklin, who worked with the landowner to disconnect the pipe and prevent it from flowing into the river. Water quality at that site improved dramatically and immediately.

Because of the Upper Merrimack Monitoring Program’s Bacteria People, this and other water quality violations are identified and can be promptly addressed, making swimming, boating, fishing, and other activities safer for everyone. Thank you, Bacteria People for your dedication and commitment. Thank you Franklin Waste Water Treatment Plan for processing the samples so quickly and accurately for the weekend. Your work has been and will continue to be meaningful to and appreciated by residents and visitors to the upper Merrimack.

Best wishes for a happy and watery weekend.
—
Michele L. Tremblay, UMMP Program Director
and
Steve Landry, Sampling Supervisor
Upper Merrimack Monitoring Program
Upper Merrimack River Local Advisory Committee
http://www.merrimackriver.org/

Dear River Friends,

Here is the spreadsheet ecoli 6.26.14 with the results of this week’s river quality health data for samples taken by our beloved Bacteria People on Thursday morning, June 26, 2014.

As you can see, three of the eleven sites exceeded the E. coli counts for Class B waters in the State of New Hampshire. That is the standard for the Merrimack River (up to 406 counts of E. coli per 100 milliliters of water). The standard for designated swim beaches (and Class A waters) is 88 counts, which means all of out sites failed that standard. These samples were taken after heavy rains following a relatively long dry period so all pet and farm animal waste as well as that from failed septic systems and wildlife were flushed in to the Merrimack and its tributaries.

This reinforces the message that “When it rains; it’s poor.” That means that swimming or other aquatic activities aren’t the best plan right after heavy rains.

Please never hesitate to contact us should you have any questions. Best wishes for a happy and healthy weekend.
—
Michele L. Tremblay, UMMP Program Director
and
Steve Landry, Sampling Supervisor
Upper Merrimack Monitoring Program
Upper Merrimack River Local Advisory Committee
http://www.merrimackriver.org/