Bacteria Monitoring
Sarah Morse
What Does Little Falls have in Common with the ...

The question everyone is asking at the Olympics is whether the Seine is safe for swimming. We might not be hosting the Olympics, but residents in the Little Falls watershed have the same question about our creeks. 

Benthic Macroinvertebrate
Sarah Morse
Summer Macroinvertebrate Count Shows Creek in ...

Our summer macroinvertebrate survey of the Little Falls Creek discovered only 8 species which gives the creek a poor rating for its biological health. The Summer macroinvertebrate count is part of our water quality monitoring program. We survey the creek 4 times a year to learn about its biological health.

Westbrook ES Meadow
Sarah Morse
Westbrook ES Meadow Reboot

Thank you WSSC. In December 2023, the Westbrook Elementary School meadow was destroyed by a water main break. Today, planting was completed by WSSC to restore the native plant meadow.

Salt Testing
Sarah Morse
Road Salt Report Shows Chloride Problem in Area ...

The winter road salt testing seasoned ended April 23 with one final testing for chloride in the local creeks. Results from the season (seen in Figure 1) indicate that the creeks in the Little Falls watershed are experiencing high levels of salt despite the lack of winter storms.

Benthic Macroinvertebrate
Sarah Morse
Two-Lined Salamander and More: Spring Stream ...

Our stream monitoring team was thrilled to find a two-lined salamander at their spring monitoring session, April 21! This little salamander lays her eggs in the creek on the rocks and pebbles. While they are native to the area, we don’t see many in the creek because their habitat is frequently buried in the silt caused by eroding banks.

Westbrook ES Meadow

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Visiting Westbrook and Sumner Village

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This week I had the pleasure of visiting two of our habitat restoration projects to see how the plants were holding up. The goal in these project was to restore native plants to the areas - not so much as a landscaping project, but to bring back the wildflowers and plants that would normally grow in the area. We didn’t need to remove many non-native invasives, but just replaced the existing grass with native plants. I am pleased to say that both projects are doing well; it’s hard to even imagine what they looked like before. And there were butterflies and bees!

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