What We're Doing — The Blackstone River Coalition

What We’re Doing

In Business for the Blackstone | Water Quality Monitoring | Tackling Stormwater | Riverbank Restoration | Events Calendar |

Campaign For a Fishable-Swimmable Blackstone River

In order to marshall the resources to actually clean up the Blackstone River, in 2003 the Blackstone River Coalition launched the Campaign for a Fishable/Swimmable Blackstone River.

To build a roadmap for the Campaign, the BRC is working with federal, state and local agencies, as well as non-profit organizations, academic institutions and businesses to create a bi-state watershed action plan.

To improve water quality to achieve a fishable/swimmable Blackstone River, the Campaign focuses on the following:

Cold Water Fishery Protection

The BRC has received $25,000 from Massachusetts Environmental Trust grant program to bolster our three project priority areas:

Support of Year 15 of our award-winning Blackstone River Coalition watershed-wide volunteer water quality monitoring program
Focus on MA cold water fishery streams in the Blackstone River watershed where we have long-running monitoring sites
Conduct an education and outreach program in the cold-water fishery sub-watershed communities, including the four cwfs in urban Worcester (Tatnuck Brook, Ararat Brook, Coal Mine Brook and Poor Farm Brook), and the 9 cwfs in the mill towns of Grafton, Upton, Sutton, Northbridge, Douglas, Uxbridge (Cold Spring Brook, Centerville Brook, Cook Allen Brook, Miscoe Brook, Warren Brook, Meadow Brook, Emerson Brook, Bacon Brook, and the West River)

Stormwater Management

Tackling stormwater and polluted runoff and reducing pollutants washed into the waterways and lowering the volume of stormwater flowing into waterways.

Land Use

Protecting undeveloped areas, restoring wetlands and riparian areas, protecting cold water fishery streams, encouraging Low Impact Development strategies such as reducing impervious surfaces, increasing infiltration, and planting native species.