Text Box: Taunton River   A Natural Resource Riverways Programs MA Department of Fish and Game  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Text Box: How important is Water Quality and Quantity? ü    *Aquatic community  *Public health   ü  *Aesthetics ü  *Perceptions  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Text Box: How can data be used?   New discharges Water quality impacts      Impacts to fisheries and public health New development      Water quality impacts     Instream flow affects  Habitat implications New water withdrawals   Instream flow impacts   Affects on fish structure and anadromous    fisheries  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dams and water control structures are often manipulated to manage stream flows.  Often impoundments are drawn down, or nearly emptied, in order to control nuisance vegetation in the fall and then refilled in the early spring.  During the drawdown period, stream flows downstream are higher than natural and during refill periods, flow can be cut off completely!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Text Box: Gaps in what is known…        305b –majority of reaches unassessed ü   Nutrient work shows problems ü   An integration of available information         Watershed-wide analysis ü   Flow and water quality combined ü    

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Text Box: Available Information   ü   305(b) assessments ü  TRWA and BSC nutrient studies ü  Water supply studies ü  EIR’s from local projects (Aquaria, etc.) ü  Point source data   Riverways low flow inventory    

Text Box: Data can inform. Identify problems for follow-up and remediation Compile baseline data for future comparisons üProvide information for decision makers Provide information for resource users and public Provide supporting information to bolster funding  requests.  

Text Box: A Wealth of Possibilities   Text Box:  Thermal   Flow   Habitat   Color  odor   Aesthetics   Vegetation …     Text Box:  Water chemistry   Biology   Bacteria   Toxins   Metals   Nutrients   Text Box:  

Text Box: How Healthy is the River?   What are the different assessment methods used to determine quality?   What is the best assessment approach?   u What do we need to know?      

Text Box: Misperceptions    There is a thorough understanding of how     aquatic ecosystems work ü Someone is dutifully monitoring all our        waterways Industry is the sole source of water pollution