The Narragansett Bay Commission’s Environmental Monitoring Section collects and analyzes over 26,000 water samples from treatment plants, industries, and our receiving waters every year. NBC’s EM section tracks the levels of nutrients, totals suspended solids, biochemical oxygen demand, fecal coliform and other water quality parameters throughout the NBC service area.
Environmental Monitoring works closely with the Technical Analysis and Compliance (TAC) section. The scientists in TAC are responsible for developing special study procedures, reviewing existing protocols, and analyzing the monitoring data for trends. That data is available on Snapshot of Narragansett Bay.
Environmental Monitoring’s activities include (but may not be limited to):
- Daily sampling of NBC’s two WWTFs to satisfy Rhode Island Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (RIPDES) requirements;
- Sampling of each Significant Industrial User twice annually to satisfy and exceed EPA Pretreatment Program mandates.
- Weekly monitoring of select surveillance manholes to satisfy EPA mandates;
- Weekly monitoring of select sanitary manholes to obtain data required for local limits development;
- Weekly sampling of 23 sites on urban rivers in NBC’s service area for bacteria analysis;
- Sampling of 20 locations in the estuarine NBC receiving waters (i.e., the Providence and Seekonk Rivers) for bacteria analysis every two weeks;
- Sampling of 15 sites on rivers entering the upper Bay from Massachusetts and Rhode Island for nutrients once to twice per month;
- Sampling of 8 locations at the surface and bottom of the Providence and Seekonk Rivers for nutrients once to twice per month;
- Weekly mapping of the Providence and Seekonk Rivers for surface chlorophyll, dissolved oxygen (DO), temperature, and salinity;
- Sampling at Bullock Reach for qualitative and quantitative phytoplankton analysis;
- Video surveys along three permanent transects in the Providence River to track changes in benthic algae growth, species occurrences, and other indicators of environmental health several times per year;
- Special project sampling for the NBC Engineering, Operations, and other sections to assist in facilities planning, improvements to plant operations, etc.;
- Routine maintenance of the Fixed-Site Water Quality Monitoring buoy, land-based dock station, and special study stations to ensure accurate data for state partners and the public.