Fixed Water Quality Monitoring

The NBC maintains two of the ten real-time water quality stations in Narragansett Bay.  Sensors at Phillipsdale Landing and Bullocks Reach record temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, pH, chlorophyll a, and water clarity.

 

Water Quality Profiles

The NBC collects water quality profiles of the water column at six locations throughout the Upper Bay. The parameters collected including depth, temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, pH, and chlorophyll a.

 

Surface Mapping

The NBC employs state of the art equipment to automatically map surface water quality while their vessel, R/V Monitor, is underway. Parameters mapped include temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, pH, and chlorophyll a.

 

Bay Pathogen Monitoring

The NBC collects bi-weekly bacteria samples at twenty stations throughout the Upper Bay. All of the bacteria samples are analyzed for fecal coliform and one quarter are selected to be analyzed for enterococcus.

 

River Pathogen Monitoring

The NBC collects weekly river bacteria samples at twenty four stations throughout the Upper Narragansett Bay Watershed. All of the bacteria samples are analyzed for fecal coliform and samples from eleven sites are analyzed for enterococcus.

 

Nutrient Monitoring

The NBC samples its receiving waters for various nutrient parameters twice a month from six stations throughout the Upper Bay. Analyzed parameters include nitrite, nitrate ammonia, total dissolved nitrogen, orthophosphate, and silicate.

 

 

Water Clarity

The NBC collects water clarity samples at six locations throughout the Upper Bay. Water clarity parameters include Secchi disk and photosynthetically active radiation or PAR.

 

 

Benthic Video Surveys

In 2014, the NBC began conducting video surveys of the benthic (bottom) conditions in the Providence River in order to make observations of potential changes in the environment as various water quality improvement initiatives take place in the Narragansett Bay watershed.