Since 2014, Save the Sound has run a seasonal water quality monitoring project to measure bacteria levels at beaches, shorelines, and rivers in western Long Island Sound. We now have 60+ monitoring stations from Greenwich, CT, through Westchester County, and into Queens and Nassau County. The data we collect helps us to identify and eliminate sources of fecal contamination, drive investment in wastewater infrastructure repairs, and engage community members and their elected officials in combating this persistent and hazardous form of water pollution.
Collection of water samples is conducted by a corps of trained volunteers. Save the Sound staff and these community scientists visit each monitoring station once a week during our 12-week season beginning in mid-June. Save the Sound then processes those samples in our Larchmont-based John and Daria Barry Foundation Water Quality Lab and publishes the results on this website, QuickDrops.org, and our social media accounts. View the most current data and yearly results by clicking the links on the right.
Join our Community Science Corps.
What We Test For
The primary pollution that health authorities test for when determining whether or not water is safe for human contact is fecal indicator bacteria. Human and animal waste contains disease-causing pathogens that pose a threat to public health.
In order to measure the level of fecal indicator bacteria in the water, Save the Sound tests for Enterococci and E. coli, the bacteria the EPA recommends for testing beach water quality and making determinations on when to close or open beaches or issue swimming advisories.
How We Collect Samples
Our staff trains and supervises volunteers in the proper procedures for collecting water quality samples. Most samples are collected using a sampling pole from the shoreline or riverbank; some are collected by boat. Join our water quality monitoring Community Science Corps.
We sample in both wet and dry weather and record precipitation data from nearby weather stations, to help determine whether a given pollution hotspot is worsened by rainfall or polluted in all conditions.
Save the Sound defines wet weather samples as those collected when there is a half-inch or greater of cumulative rainfall on the day of sampling or within 72 hours prior to sample collection.
Save the Sound staff and trained volunteers analyze the samples at the John and Daria Barry Foundation Water Quality Lab in our Larchmont office, following the methods detailed in our Quality Assurance Project Plan and using equipment provided through an EPA loan program.