CWQT Week 14--results

[Rob Buchanan]

At first glance it looks like not much rain, so why the big bacteria numbers once again? Remember, we get our rainfall totals from the Central Park register, but precipitation varies throughout the city--and some places obviously got more. In any case, with Henri bearing down and hurricane season heating up, it's hard not to think we're going to see more rain this season, and thus continued high bacteria levels in the harbor. Click here to see our latest results. 

What does dirty water look like in the lab? Here's a sample tray from Second Street on the Gowanus Canal with all but one well illuminated, signifying a very large 'most probable number' of 'colony-forming units' of fecal indicator bacteria per 100 ml of sample water.

WATERWAYS NEWS:

Yes, people live there too: the unexpectedly rich ecosystem of Newtown Creek (New York Times)

Who was Michael J. Ollis and why is the newest Staten Island Ferry named after him? (SI Live) 

Modified rapture: cruise ships are back and they're bigger than ever (Daily Mail)  

$16 billion for sea gates for the Jersey Shore? (NBC New York)

WEEKLY SLIDE SHOW:

Hackensack Riverkeeper intern Cassie Harper with sample from Laurel Hill Park in Secaucus (Hugh Carola)

Sanjay Shirke at Gantry State Park with one of the few clean samples taken this week

Dawn Marie Berry at Pier 96: also a pretty clean spot this week

Kent Ave in Williamsburg: the tip of the iceberg

Big steel can be beautiful...

Those dead bunker are back again, and the gulls are 

Fiddler crabs are back in the Gowanus! (Owen Foote/Sean Lynch)

Species ID quiz: it's a fish, yes, but what kind? 

Moolah King Baby Island: where is it?

Last week's quiz answers:

 

Species ID: Twelve-scaled polychaete worm (Lepidonotus squamatus), and no it doesn't bite (humans anyway)

Harbor geography: south tip of Roosevelt Island, where misguided park designers entombed the original bedrock in concrete and riprap

The Citizens Water Quality Testing Program (CWQT) is a collaboration between the New York City Water Trail Association, the Billion Oyster Project, and Hudson River Park's River Project, with support from Two Trees Management. 

Partner programs and labs sharing their data (or publishing ours) include: Bronx River Alliance, Gowanus Canal Conservancy, Interstate Environmental Commission, Lower Raritan Watershed Partnership, Hackensack Riverkeeper, Hudson Riverkeeper, Monsignor Farrell High School, Newtown Creek Alliance, St. Francis College, Sarah Lawrence Center for the Urban River, SUNY Maritime Marine Environmental Science Department, Queens College Biology Department. 

For more information, to volunteer, or to unsubscribe, email us at water-...@nycwatertrail.org