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The BRWA is involved in a number of community initiatives and educational events to help protect the water quality of the Baker River, maintain the river’s shoreline, and improve the ecology of the Baker River watershed. Each year, the BRWA monitors water quality in the river. Three or four sites within each town that the river flows through are sampled for a total of twelve sites. The samples are taken four times per year. The results of the water quality samples are reported to each Town Office. These data are used by local officials to assess the safety of the water for swimming and other purposes. The results from 2004 and 2006 indicate that the river meets class B water quality standards. The results from 2005 indicate some samples in the early summer did not meet class B water quality standards. The BRWA has held several workshops for riparian land owners on bank
erosion and stabilization techniques. These “Shrub Your Buffer” events are designed to
Future community initiatives involve providing additional educational workshops, working with local towns to adopt better river protection measures and watershed planning techniques, and, in conjunction with Plymouth State University, developing an environmental education trail along the Baker River in Plymouth. 2007 Annual Meeting - April 5 at 6 PM |
explain the benefits
of various devices designed to control bank erosion along the river. In May 2003, a workshop was held at the
site of recently installed erosion control devices and provided participants the opportunity to see the
benefits of newly installed bendway weirs, rip rap along the river banks and vegetation. The weirs were
designed to redirect the flow of the river and reduce velocities to allow vegetation to establish and stabilize
the river bank. The vegetation used was a mix of native species to protect the bank from rill erosion and to
provide a forested buffer at the top of the river bank.