Save the Sound’s Unified Water Study (UWS) is back in action at NESS! From May – October every year, NESS team members go out twice per week (one morning in Alewife Cove, New London, and one morning in Stonington Harbor, Stonington) during sunrise to collect data on the health of our waters. 

The UWS is designed to measure human impact on, and the relative environmental health of Long Island Sound embayments. As part of the UWS, we receive training, custom study designs, and equipment to gather this data, including a Sonde, which measures Salinity, Dissolved Oxygen, Chlorophyll-a, Depth, and Turbidity. Our testing also includes noting qualitative macrophyte assessments and water clarity! Of course, when you get marine biologists out on the water we tend to focus on both the water we’re testing and the animals that live in it!

There are over 25 organizations throughout CT & NY participating in this data collection, and NESS is the ONLY team that doesn’t solely use powerboats! Our Alewife Cove location in New London puts our adventure sports skills to use since it’s only accessible by kayaks!

Thank you to Save our Sound for letting us help, and shout out to our NESS staff who volunteer to do these early morning samplings! We do what we can to keep our waters healthy, so we can continue all our great on-the-water programs!

“Participating in the Unified Water Study is a great way for NESS to contribute to important scientific research, be stewards of our environment, and engage students and AmeriCorps members on water quality monitoring techniques. Personally, I love doing UWS because I am able to see trends in how Stonington Harbor and Alewife Cove change throughout the year, which is really interesting to me. Being out on the water at sunrise is so beautiful too!” – Moana

“I would say that one of the best parts about participating in the Unified Water Study is getting out on the water for sunrise is so peaceful. The water is almost always calm like glass and the way the colors of the sunrise reflect on the water is so incredibly beautiful it is hard to put it into words. I had the opportunity to participate in UWS twice this past week. On Wednesday, we went out on kayaks at Alewife Cove in New London to do our testing and then I went out again on Friday around Stonington Harbor. Both times were so fun, and I really think that waking up and getting to work before everyone else is truly a bonding experience for those at UWS. Also, by collecting our data, we become more connected to our local waters and more deeply understand the aquatic ecosystem that we utilize every day for our programs with our students. It shows that we care about The Sound and are not just only using it for our own benefit!” – Luna

WANT TO GET INVOLVED?

If you are supporting or joining this NESS stewardship initiative, please contact us!

For more information about the UWS and Save our Sound, visit Water Monitoring: Ecological Health.