State environment officials took to the water on Friday in a new 44-foot long boat that will monitor water quality issues across Long Island Sound.
The boat is known as the RV Sound Outlook, RV standing for ‘research vessel’. It’ll collect water samples across the Sound, testing them for temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen levels, nitrogen levels, suspended solids and more.
“Sort of like taking the Sound’s heartbeat and pulse,” said Katie Dykes, commissioner for the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, during a press conference at DEEP’s Marine District Headquarters in Old Lyme.
“The surveys that we conduct, and will conduct with this vessel, help us to detect problems early, such as detecting rising nitrogen levels that can starve fish and other aquatic animals of oxygen,” Dykes said.
Rising nitrogen levels can lead to hypoxia, the term for dangerously low levels of dissolved oxygen in water. It can be triggered by excessive levels of nitrogen entering the water through fertilizer runoff or wastewater discharge.
“The information we'll gather from this research vessel will help us continue the good science that allows us to identify nuisance algal blooms that can impact shellfish and contribute to beach closures,” Dykes said.
“Without that data it becomes so much more difficult for us to effectively manage these issues and at worst, it can create dangerous problems that could remain invisible until the damage is already done,” she said.
The vessel continues research conducted by a previous boat, known as the RV John Dempsey, which dates back to 1990.
“The John Dempsey has been a fantastic platform for us, but it is now approaching 40 years old and starting to show its age,” said Justin Davis, DEEP’s bureau chief of natural resources.
The new boat is lighter and faster and can navigate waters less than 2 feet deep, which will make it easier to collect samples along the shore.
“We're going to be able to complete our required monthly sampling in a much shorter period of time,” said Graham Stevens, chief of the Bureau of Water Protection and Land Reuse at DEEP.
The $2.2 million boat was purchased through a grant from the Long Island Sound Partnership, provided by the Environmental Protection Agency.
Áine Pennello is a Report for America corps member, covering the environment and climate change for Connecticut Public
