The Merrimack Valley Planning Commission is proud to announce the public release of its Merrimack River Early Alert Tool! This tool, and its corresponding GIS visual dashboard, link, was developed as an initiative of the Merrimack River Collaborative to share water quality information across the Merrimack Valley Region. The Early Alert Tool is a multimodal resource for data sharing, predictive modeling, and real-time monitoring. It leverages artificial intelligence and machine learning to forecast E. coli bacteria levels following combined sewer overflow (CSO) events in the Merrimack River. 

This information is available on MVPC’s online dashboard, playing a critical role in predicting water quality downstream of wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) after CSO events. These CSO incidents are the primary source of elevated E. coli levels in the river, which can introduce pathogens into surface waters, affect the drinking water supply, and disrupt the aquatic ecosystem. Through its predictive capabilities, the tool assesses associated health risks for residents interacting with the river. This resource also assists municipal boards of health in complying with Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) regulations, which require mandatory public advisories at river access points following CSO events. 

MVPC intends to strengthen the tool by integrating additional data to continue to improve the model, and collaborate with public officials to enhance its utility and effectiveness for local communities. 

Funding for the Early Alert Tool was provided by the State’s Community Compact Cabinet Regionalization and Efficiency Grant Program. 

If you are interested in the Early Alert Tool and would like to learn more, follow the links below. 

• To access the Early Alert Tool, follow this link. 

• To learn more about the Early Alert Tool, click this link.  

• To learn more about the Merrimack River Collaborative, click this link.  

• To learn more about the water quality monitoring program lead by the Merrimack River Watershed Council, follow this link. 

• To learn more about MVPC’s initiatives addressing climate change and how to support local efforts, visit our program page: Environment | MVPC.