In its inaugural year, the Merrimack River Collaborative (MRC) has accomplished remarkable milestones in efforts to restore the water quality of the Merrimack River. Since January 2023, the MRC has convened regular meetings, drafted and advocated for legislation, secured funding to advance water quality monitoring technologies, and offered education opportunities across the Merrimack Valley. This year, the Merrimack River Watershed Council and the Merrimack Valley Planning Commission, partners of the MRC, in collaboration with the Massachusetts Bays Partnership, hosted the 3rd Merrimack River Water Quality Roundtable. The roundtable was organized for the purpose of collaboration with various environmental groups who work along the watershed. This meeting included representatives from the Environmental Protection Agency, advocacy groups from New Hampshire, and members from Massachusetts advocacy groups and educational institutions. The MRC seeks to continue cultivating opportunities for outreach and engagement of legislators, practitioners, and to broaden its reach through expanded partnerships across our Northern border to include representation from New Hampshire.
The Merrimack River Collaborative’s first annual report signifies an important step in the Collaborative’s formalization. Each year, the MRC is set to produce a report to detail its completed initiatives for that year. Within the report, you can read more about the initiatives set from the original legislation. These initiatives stem from our four focus areas: Planning and Collaboration, Standardization and Monitoring, Outreach and Engagement, and Funded Projects. To view the 2023 Annual MRC Report, follow the link below.
This year, we eagerly anticipate the finalization of comprehensive online resources, the centralization of water quality data, the hosting of educational and informative events, and most importantly, fostering collaborative efforts among various organizations to enact positive transformations within our watershed. In efforts to centralize data and resources, the MRC has been developing a comprehensive webpage to house all of these community tools. Within those webpages, comes a new and exciting tool in water quality monitoring: The Early Alert Tool. This tool uses water quality data and machine learning to predict E. coli bacteria levels after combined sewer events. Be sure to keep an eye out for the release of this tool for your summer river recreating.
As the MRC reflects on our first year, we celebrate our achievements and renew our dedication to monitoring, improving, and restoring our namesake river. Please join in our excitement by reading our annual report in full and seeing what great initiatives we have for the river in the years to come. To read the annual report, follow this link: 2023 Annual MRC Report, or click the image below.
