Current issues in the Taunton River watershed
The TRWA will be hosting a Holiday Open House in appreciation for all the support received throughout this past year.
Stop by the Watershed Center at Sweets Knoll State Park, Dighton on Saturday December 17th from 10am-1pm. Enjoy cookies, calendars, holiday treats, warm conversation and a chance to see our progress at the Center.
During your visit, enjoy our 2023 Tide Calendar photo display and find many great holiday gift ideas.
Friday, July 1, 2022: Fall River Heritage State Park 10:00am-11:30am
TRWA volunteers will lead an easy walk along the boardwalk at the Fall River Heritage State Park. We will look at nature along this end of the Taunton River Watershed, and discuss the area’s history. Stroller and wheelchair accessible. Pups on leash welcome. Restrooms available.
Cost: Member- Free, Non-member- $5
Meeting Place: Battleship Cove Parking Area near the small bridge
Attendee Limit: 15; Pre-registration required by 4pm, Thursday, June 30, 2022
To register call (508) 828-1101 or email director@savethetaunton.org
This year’s celebration of the Wild and Scenic Taunton River was a huge success! Many thanks to all our vendors, exhibitors, non-profit organizations, food trucks, musicians, dancers, and visitors who made this event so enjoyable. The day was filled with sunshine, smiles, laughter, song, dance, food, shopping and more! A special thank you to our generous sponsors and dedicated volunteers, including Taunton Troop 40, whose assistance made the event possible.
Mark your calendars for next year on June 11, 2023 at Weir Village Riverfront Park, 33 East Water St, Taunton.
Click here for photos of the 2022 event.
Sunday, June 5, 2022: Sweets Knoll State Park, Dighton MA 8:30am-10:00am
TRWA volunteers will lead an easy walk through the Sweets Knoll State Park which abuts the Taunton River. We will look for and identify birds on and near the river through sight and sound. If you have binoculars and/or bird guides, feel free to bring them along. Wear sturdy waterproof footwear. Families welcome, though not stroller friendly. No pups please. Restroom available.
Cost: Member- Free, Non-member- $5
Meeting Place: TRWA Office, 1387 Somerset Ave, Dighton
Attendee Limit: 15; Pre-registration required by 4pm, Friday, June 3rd
To register call (508) 828-1101 or email director@savethetaunton.org
TRWA’s work to assess the population of Diamondback Terrapins in the Taunton River Watershed will be entering it’s seventh season in June 2022. This unique terrapin is a threatened species, protected under Massachusetts Law. If you have laying females on your property and would like us to install screening to prevent nest predation by skunks, foxes and raccoons, you can call our office at (508) 828-1101.
Saturday, April 30, 2022, (Rain Date Saturday, May 7, 2o22): Woodward Forest, Norton MA 1:00pm-2:30pm
TRWA volunteers will lead an easy walk through Woodward Forest managed by the Land Preservation Society of Norton. We will walk through various habitat, stopping along the way to look at signs of wildlife. The trail will lead us to the Three Mile River which flows into the Taunton River. Great for children, though not stroller friendly. Please no pups. Restrooms not available.
Cost: Member- Free, Non-member- $5
Meeting Place: Forest entrance, located between 4 & 5 Gateway Lane off Old Taunton Ave. Parking available along Gateway Lane.
Attendee Limit: 15; Pre-registration required by 4pm, Friday, April 29th
To register call (508) 828-1101 or email director@savethetaunton.org
APRIL 19 – 10:00 – 11:30 AM
Join a walk and talk event with handouts during school vacation week. Children welcome! Learn about the Town River Restoration Project and explore the site.
Program led by Kristopher M. Houle, P.E., Senior Ecological Restoration Engineer. Parking is at the entrance to the Bridgewater Highway Dept at 151 High St, Bridgewater, MA 02324.
APRIL 14 – 6:30 – 8:00 PM
Lakeville Public Library
4 Precinct St. Lakeville, MA
Learn from Martha “Mike” Schroeder, master gardener with decades of experience. She has a slide presentation on the basics of native plant gardening which will be followed by a question-and-answer period.
Fully handicap accessible
TRWA is pleased to announce the TRWA Volunteer Water Quality Monitoring Program will resume on Tuesday, April 12, 2022 this year! Existing and new volunteer monitoring training will be held Saturday, March 26, 2022 at TRWA’s Sweets Knoll State Park Office in Dighton, MA (on Rt 138 just South of the Bristol Aggie traffic light – 1387 Somerset Avenue, Dighton, MA). On March 26th we will have sign-in and an informal get acquainted and Q/ A session from 9:30am to 10:00am and the training will run from 10:00am to Noon. If you want to participate but can’t make the March 26th training date, contact the TRWA office at director@savethetaunton.org and we’ll see if a make-up day is needed.
TRWA volunteers will sample the second Tuesday of the month for the sampling season April through October (7 months). Teams take their samples from 2 or 3 locations anytime between 5:00am to 8:00am and drop them off at the Taunton WWTP lab no later than 8:30am. As we have done in the past, and as noted above the refresher sampler/new volunteer training is on the last Saturday morning of the month before sampling begins which is Saturday, March 26, 2022 this year.
During 2022 all five wastewater treatment plants up stream of Somerset are required to start removing nitrogen making this year an important one for water quality monitoring. As the veteran samplers know TRWA teams’ sample 20 locations (4 on the main stem of the Taunton River and 16 locations on tributary rivers/streams) the second Tuesday of each month during our sampling season. We have a MassDEP Quality Assurance Project Plan approved sampling program. We do 2 duplicates and 2 blanks each month (1 for every 10 samples for Nitrate, Total Phosphorus and Bacteria the most important pollutants we monitor). We do 2 duplicates (no blanks) for dissolved oxygen, and pH/TSS. TRWA monitoring is important because it documents the need for upgrading all seven major wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in the watershed to remove nitrogen and for the four WWTPs in the upper freshwaters of the watershed to also remove phosphorus. It also highlights the need across the entire watershed for better stormwater controls for new and existing development to reduce bacteria, nitrogen and phosphorus pollution from stormwater discharges.
We delayed the start of the sampling program last year to give our volunteers time to obtain their vaccinations. We encourage our volunteers to obtain their booster vaccinations if they have not already done so. Until we see how things are going with the virus this spring wearing a mask at the training and when dropping off samples at the Veolia lab is recommended.
I look forward to seeing you at the training session on March 26th . Our 2022 Standard Operating Procedures guide is unchanged from the 2021 on the TRWA website https://savethetaunton.org/ at the monitoring tab as well as our simple one-page sampler instructions sheet, chain of custody form, instructions for filling out sample bottle labels, Google map of sampling locations, and 2022 blank reporting forms which show in the lower section which locations/teams will collect duplicate and blank samples each month. This webpage generally has anything you might want to review concerning the sampling program.
One of the most important things we want to accomplish at the training is assure that we have teams of people with at least one veteran sampler ready to cover each sampling location. We will assign new volunteers to teams with veterans for hands on training and to ease them into the program. We always need new volunteers to replace folks who have moved away and to build up our teams to make sure we have coverage for vacations etc. If you know anyone who might like to get fresh morning air, knowledge, and be part of an important effort to save our environment, please invite them to the training.
If you are a veteran sampler and are no longer able to participate in the sampling program, please let Steve Silva (steve124@gmail.com) know to help us with planning.
