Project Summary:

The overall objectives of the project are to increase the understanding of the impacts of urban growth on water quality in the Exeter River Watershed in the Seacoast region of New Hampshire. The study is designed to monitor long-term changes in biological communities and determine the watershed characteristics that may be responsible for alteration of such communities. The Exeter River Watershed has been identified for this study because the river flows within the boundaries of Rockingham County, the fastest growing county in New Hampshire.

The project will consist of a water-quality network with the goal of assessing the environmental quality of streams and its response to changing watershed conditions using benthic-macroinvertebrate data as an indicator. Current stream conditions will be documented in undeveloped watersheds and in watersheds that are expected to experience considerable urban growth in the near future. Data will be analyzed to enhance our understanding of the extent and amount of urban land-use change that results in impacts to the macroinvertebrate communities and identify those watershed characteristics that correlate with these alterations. Finally, a web site will be developed to make watershed characteristics and environmental data collected during the project accessible to decision-makers.

The sampling protocols for the study are based on the Rapid Bioassessment Protocols (RBPs) that were established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Fifteen monitoring sites are selected and represent an urban gradient throughout the Exeter River Watershed.