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EPA Honors Merrimack River Watershed Council on National Water Monitoring Day

Release Date: 10/17/2002
Contact Information: Andrew Spejewski, EPA Press Office, 617-918-1014

LOWELL, MASS. -- Robert W. Varney, the regional administrator for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's New England Office, today honored the Merrimack River Watershed Council (MRWC) for their work in monitoring and protecting the environmental health of the Merrimack River and its tributaries.

Varney marked National Water Monitoring Day and the 30th anniversary of the federal Clean Water Act by issuing a certificate of appreciation to the MRWC. He presented the certificate at Rynne Beach on the Merrimack River where EPA's Chelmsford regional laboratory was demonstrating water sampling techniques and equipment for the public and students from the Latin Lyceum Program at Lowell High School.

"Monitoring the status of our waterways lays the foundation of our work at EPA, and the work of everyone working to clean up our rivers, lakes and streams," said Varney. "As we celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Clean Water Act – which has made our rivers tremendously cleaner – volunteer groups like the Merrimack River Watershed Council deserve special credit and appreciation for what we've accomplished and for the progress we're going to make."

"The Merrimack River is a great recreational resource for the City of Lowell," said Rita Mercier, Mayor of the City of Lowell. "The Watershed Council is helping find out what shape the river is in and what we need to do to make sure that the residents of Lowell can continue to enjoy it."

The Merrimack River Watershed Council is a non-profit organization whose mission is to protect and restore the Merrimack River watershed both Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Operating since 1976, it conducts education, monitoring, watershed science, and planning.

The MRWC runs the Merrimack River Watershed Volunteer Environmental Monitoring Network, a collaboration among more than 30 monitoring groups involving more than 1,000 volunteers. The volunteers regularly sample different parts of the river and its tributaries to evaluate the health of the waterways, sources of degradation and possible solutions. The MRWC also funds professional monitoring by its staff and others.

Today's event was part of National Water Monitoring Day, designed by EPA to honor volunteer water monitors across the country and encourage citizen participation in collecting samples. The Merrimack event was one of over 1700 registered locations expected to take part. The event also celebrated the 30th anniversary of the federal Clean Water Act, signed into law on Oct. 8, l972