CANCELLED – NEW DATE TO BE ANNOUNCED WHEN AVAILABLE
Come help us make sure our water stays clean!
The Taunton River Watershed Alliance has done water quality testing in the Taunton River and its tributaries since its inception in 1988. The information gathered shows that ongoing efforts to clean up the river are necessary and effective. Each bucket of water pulled up to be tested can have national implications. It already has and must be continued to keep our water clean and our 43 communities informed and accountable.
TRWA currently has 20 sample collection volunteers who work in 10 teams collecting samples from 20 locations from Berkley to Bridgewater the second Tuesday morning of each month from April through October. Volunteers work in teams of 2 to 3 people (to provide back-up coverage for vacations etc.) and each team collects samples from 2 or 3 locations bringing samples back to the Taunton wastewater treatment plant by 8:30 am.
No technical training or education is required just a desire to be part of an important effort with good people who want to improve local water quality. We provide the training, pair new people with folks who are veterans, and explain what the results mean and why they are important.
We are looking for new volunteers to replace some samplers who have moved out of the area, can no-longer volunteer, and to make some of our teams a little bigger. Anyone who thinks they may be interested in becoming one of our guardians of the river should come to our training session on Saturday morning, March 28, 2020, 9:30am – Noon at TRWA’s River Center, Sweets Knoll State Park, 1387 Somerset Avenue, Dighton, MA. There is a lot of information about the monitoring program on the TRWA website. People with questions may also send an email to the volunteer monitoring program coordinator Steve Silva at steve124@gmail.com.
If you know anyone who might be interested in helping us with this effort (friends, neighbors etc.) please invite them to come to the training with you. There is no obligation to volunteer if you come. We will have coffee, juice and some refreshments. You will have a chance to meet our diamond back terrapin (a threatened brackish water turtle) mascot who we have adopted because she can’t be returned to the wild and visit scenic Sweets Knoll State Park.
We are also looking for sponsors for this program so we can continue to pay for the water testing. For more information view our sponsorship sheet or the website.