Friends of Alewife Reservation (FAR)
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Invitation: join the EMPACT team at a community briefing
May 17th, 2003 - please RSVP by May 14 |
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Recreation on the Mystic: Community Tools for Informed Decisions
Invitation |
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In October 2001, the City of Somerville was awarded funding of $363,257.00 from the USEPA to work collaboratively with Tufts University and the Mystic River Watershed Association, (MyRWA) on a project that would develop a real time monitoring system for the Mystic River and Alewife Brook. This project tracks changes in water quality and uses a predictive model to help the public to make informed decisions about using the river for recreation. This project was awarded under the Environmental Monitoring for Public Access and Community Tracking or simply EMPACT program. A fully functional website www.mysticriveronline.org developed by faculty and students from Tufts is now available. You can use the website to learn about and track changes in water quality of the Mystic River and understand when the water is safe to use for recreation. We would like to invite you to join the EMPACT team at a community briefing on "Recreation on the Mystic: Community Tools for Informed Decisions", to be held at Blessing of the Bay Boathouse, Somerville, on May 17th, 2003 between 9:00 AM – 9:30 AM. The bilingual website www.mysticriveronline.org, which offers real time data at five locations on the Mystic River and Alewife Brook, will be formally announced by Somerville Mayor Dorothy Kelly Gay. This event will include a demonstration of the features of the website and its potential benefits, and information on how to use the EMPACT data . This project, which is highlighted by the EPA as a “Featured EMPACT Project” on their website at www.epa.gov/empact, displays achievements of a public/private partnership while providing a useful tool for the general public to make informed decisions, a larger database to the research community and policy makers, and an educational tool for anyone interested in understanding Mystic water quality. Please RSVP to Janet Kovner at 781-316-3438 or via email janet@mysticriver.org by May 14, 2003.This event will precede the Super Cleanup of Mystic River organized by MyRWA [1]. We appreciate your time and interest in attending this event. Sincerely yours,
[1] The Mystic River Watershed Association and local groups sponsor spring-cleaning in the Mystic River watershed. On Saturday, May 17th, we will kick off the season with a cleanup along the Mystic River in the Ten Hills section of Somerville, at 9am. This area, near the Blessing of the Bay Boathouse, will be the site of a press conference at 12:30pm. We would like to invite you to join us at the press conference and voice your support of the many spring-cleaning efforts throughout the watershed. This cleanup is being sponsored by the Boys and Girls Club of Middlesex County, Groundwork Somerville, the Mystic River Watershed Association, and the Somerville Conservation Commission. |