Phillipsdale Landing
Overall, water quality at Phillipsdale Landing was good this week. Weather conditions included sporadic rain events, with 1.0 inches of precipitation recorded at T.F. Green. The Blackstone River flow increased during the 12th and 13th and remained above the 19-year daily median for the week. Surface salinity this week averaged 2.4 ppt and ranged from 0.2 ppt to 7.5 ppt. At the bottom, salinity averaged 8.6 ppt and ranged from 0.2 ppt to 26.4 ppt. Temperatures increased this week, averaging 10.5°C at the surface and 9.8°C bottom. Surface temperatures ranged from 6.5°C to 12.3°C, while bottom temperatures ranged from 5.9°C to 12.5°C.
Dissolved oxygen (DO) at Phillipsdale Landing remained above the hypoxia threshold (i.e., DO >2.9 mg/L) throughout the week. Surface DO averaged 11.5 mg/L and ranged 10.0 – 12.7 mg/L. Bottom DO concentrations averaged 11.0 mg/L and ranged from 9.1 mg/L to 12.6 mg/L. Chlorophyll concentrations remained low, averaging 2.3 ug/L at the surface and 4.2 ug/L at the bottom. Maximum chlorophyll at the surface reached 15.1 ug/L on the morning of April 12th. Please note that tidal fluctuations and Blackstone River flows greatly influence water column salinity, temperature, and DO at this location. Also, please note that isolated portions of suspect chlorophyll data from April 8th to the 11th were excluded from the summary.
Bullock Reach
The Bullock Reach Buoy remains out of the water for the winter. EM will coordinate with RIDEM to redeploy the buoy in late spring.