Phillipsdale Landing
Overall, water quality at Phillipsdale Landing was good this week. Weather conditions were wet this week, with a total of 2.03 inches recorded at T.F. Green, and the majority of rainfall occurring on May 8th. The Blackstone River flow increased over the week, climbing above the 19-year daily median on May 8th. Surface salinity this week averaged 7.5 ppt and ranged from 2.8 ppt to 17.7 ppt. At the bottom, salinity averaged 15.6 ppt and ranged from 4.7 ppt to 26.5 ppt. Temperatures increased this week, averaging 15.1°C at the surface and 13.6°C bottom. Surface temperatures ranged from 12.3°C to 17.0°C, while bottom temperatures ranged from 11.0°C to 17.5°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 9.1 mg/L and ranged 7.9 – 11.3 mg/L. Bottom DO concentrations averaged 8.5 mg/L and ranged from 6.5 mg/L to 11.3 mg/L. Chlorophyll concentrations remained low, averaging 2.6 µg/L at the surface and 3.8 µg/L at the bottom. Maximum chlorophyll at the surface reached 9.5 µg/L on the afternoon of May 6th. Please note that tidal fluctuations and Blackstone River flows greatly influence water column salinity, temperature, and DO at this location. Also, please note that an isolated 15-minute portion of suspect chlorophyll data from May 6th was 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.