Water Logging
Activities, Participation

Presentations introduce the program, demonstrate and practice the equipment, provide field trips to water restoration projects, sewage treatment plants and areas that affect water quality on the Great Huntington Northport Bay Complex. We monitor for water and air temperature, dissolved oxygen in the water, salinity, pH, and sometimes nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus. We also observe and record wildlife including birds, fish and plants and unusual events such as algal blooms or oil slicks.

 Training with equipment used for water quality monitoring will be in classroom settings and in the field.

Participation by volunteers can be as little or a much as the volunteer feels comfortable with. Some monitoring is done from docks. Most is done from our Cornell Cooperative Extension 25’ power boat. Monitoring sessions begin at 9 in the morning and usually run to 12 noon . Volunteers who wish to set their own schedule can be accommodated. Sign out equipment for monitoring from docks and from personal boats will be available. We begin monitoring the water in late May and complete the activity in mid November. Regular trips are planned for Tuesday and Thursday mornings. We leave from Northport Village Dock or Huntington Town Dock.

Volunteers who prefer a more sedentary participation are welcome to work in the lab on identification of nutrients and microorganisms. We are looking for computer literate folks who can enter data into our spreadsheets, manipulate data for analysis and update out website.

Schedule for training will be in April , May and June . There will be three sessions coordinated throughthe Senior Center in) from 10 AM to 12 noon . The first session will be a presentation on the program with handouts and season plans for signups. The second session will be on a dock site with indoor space should it be inclement weather. The third session will be a field trip to Gold Star Batallion Dock to view the Town of Huntington Restoration Project and review progress of the Storm Water initiative. The water quality monitoring will begin on May 24 th and continue until November 10 th, with regular monitoring sessions on Tuesday and Thursday mornings.