FOX61 — A team from the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) Fisheries Division stocked the waters of the Quinnipiac River Trail in Meridenwith their prized trophy brook trout Tuesday morning.
Author: Carolyn Christmann
Researchers, volunteers fight pollution in the Quinnipiac River
YALE DAILY NEWS – Local scientists and volunteers are trying to reduce pollution in the Quinnipiac — once one of Connecticut’s most polluted rivers — through water monitoring and cleanup events. Photograph by Logan Dinkins
Nyberg: Quinnipiac professor taking action to clean up Quinnipiac River
WTNH — A Quinnipiac University professor cares deeply about cleaning up the Quinnipiac River. Courtney McGinnis, the interim associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and professor of biological and medical sciences, grew up in Oxford and has a special passion around the river and its surrounding community and ecosystem.
Q River Rolls Along, As Does Its Cleanup
NEW HAVEN INDEPENDENT – More than ten years ago, Courtney McGinnis was an associate professor of biology at Quinnipiac University and on a team of faculty and student environmental sleuths.
They were looking for the source of phenothiazine in the Quinnipiac river, along with assessing the possible presence of phthalates — toxic effluents — used in making certain plastics, which were detected running into the Quinnipiac River between Wallingford and North Haven.
A Salty Situation
In cities like New Haven, winter brings more than just flurries and flakes. Salt laden sidewalks and streets are a sure sign that snow is on the forecast. Safety conscious New Englanders are quick to scatter this affordable and effective de-icer. Salt has become a (literal) widespread solution to preventing slips, falls and accidents, but what impact does its abundant use have on our waterways?
Aided by a Quinnipiac River Fund grant, Gaboury Benoit, professor of Environmental Chemistry at Yale School of the Environment, launched a research project — “Road Salt in Urban Runoff of the Quinnipiac River” — to measure the impact of winter salting on the environment, using the Quinnipiac River as a central testing site.
Using a sweep and weigh approach, Benoit measured the amount of salt on sidewalks and paved areas. The results revealed that most test sites contained more than 100 times the recommended levels. “People think, ‘if one pound is good, then ten pounds is better,’” Benoit explained. “Although science proves that a little salt can go a long way, people often pile it on thinking, “if I see it, then I know its working.”
Benoit’s study also measured the salt flux in catch basins, wells, tributaries and the Quinnipiac River itself. Salt flux is determined by an equation of a water’s saltiness and its flow. The results showed extremely elevated levels across the board. The brine in catch basins measured a salt flux of 8000, which is 400 times the recommended levels and more than double the saltiness of the ocean itself. And the salt flux in deep wells averaged 100 — 1000 times the recommended level for groundwater.
“The whole system is contaminated.” Benoit described. “Even if we stopped salting immediately, it would be years for it to clear the system.”
With data covering the entire year, Benoit noticed a disturbing trend. In the summertime, after substantial rainfalls, salt levels measured nearly as high as the winter readings. This poses serious problems for aquatic organisms during their active and reproductive period, Benoit explained. He attributed these summer spikes to the stormwater surges that flush out the salt-saturated brine that settled in the bottom of catch basins in the winter season.
While the problem is pervasive, the solutions can be simple, Benoit described. By installing low-tech baffle panels in catch basins (a vertical panel that forces water out of the discharge rather than accumulating in the bottom), the majority of brine would be washed out of basins in wintertime when aquatic life is more dormant.
Even more low-tech and effective is the solution Benoit widely recommends, “use less salt!”
Professor awarded $16,000 grant to investigate pollution in the Quinnipiac River
QUINNIPIAC TODAY — Kinsey, an associate professor of chemistry, was awarded a $16,000 grant. Her project aims to monitor pharmaceuticals, personal care products (PPCPs) and water quality in the Quinnipiac River. The foundation’s Quinnipiac River Fund was created “to improve the environmental quality of the Quinnipiac River and the New Haven Harbor.”
Quinnipiac Riverfest Brightens Fair Haven
NEW HAVEN INDEPENDENT — The June sunlight sparkled off the smooth waters of the Quinnipiac River beside the Quinnipiac River Marina in Fair Haven, where people of all ages gathered to participate in the Quinnipiac Riverfest this Saturday.
North Haven Quinnipiac River trail fenced off over contaminants
NEW HAVEN REGISTER – Since 2015, signs posted along the Quinnipiac River have proudly proclaimed the existence of the Tidal Marsh Trail, which a town nonprofit has maintained for the public. This past weekend, however, a fence was erected, blocking access to the trail. Photo by Dave Zajac
Wallingford officials push to extend Quinnipiac River Linear Trail to North Haven
NEW HAVEN REGISTER – State Rep. Mary Mushinsky, D-Wallingford, would like to see Wallingford’s Quinnipiac River Linear Trail connect to similar trails in North Haven and Meriden, even if it takes some pioneer tactics to get it done. Photo by Arnold Gold
Environmental concerns over proposed North Haven waste reclamation plant
CT INSIDER — Officials are questioning the environmental impacts of a waste reclamation facility proposed for a 90-acre site behind the Target on Universal Drive. The project, called AB Eco Park, would process the material that is not accepted for single-stream recycling across the state and ends up in a landfill.