Our Work on the Merrimack

Water quality testing is done along the Merrimack River and it’s tributaries by a number of state and local organizations. To help standardize water sampling methods across the Merrimack, the Merrimack River Collaborative intends to serve as a resource for information sharing and methodology. This page is meant to provide an index for water quality efforts across the Merrimack Watershed.

Water Quality Roundtable

In an effort to grow partnerships, share knowledge, and strengthen collective action, the Merrimack River Water Quality Roundtable was born. MVPC and MRWC are excited to be stepping in to support this effort and continue to expand upon the work discussed in our Third Annual Merrimack River Water Quality Roundtable spring of 2024.  Through continuing to convene groups across the multi-state watershed, we hope to create paths for continued and resilient management of our vital and shared resource.

Mainstem & Tributary Monitoring Program

The Merrimack River Watershed Council is currently working on  three projects using local volunteers to monitor for water quality in the Merrimack River and two of it’s tributaries (the Spicket and Shawsheen Rivers). Staff and volunteer led sampling takes place in wet (rain) and dry (regular/non-rain) conditions and consists of physical samples of water taken from the water body and it’s tributaries and is processed in local laboratories. The MRWC collects data on pH, salinity, total dissolved solids, conductivity, temperature, and concentrations of two types of fecal indicator bacteria. Finalized data is shared to MRWC’s Interactive Water Quality Dashboard. To learn mroe about MRWC’s monitoring program, visit their monitoring webpage at https://merrimack.org/water-quality-monitoring-program/.