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Charles River Watershed Database and Mapping Project Software & Data
ARD developed the Massachusetts Charles River Watershed project as part of its participation in the “Clean Charles 2005” initiative. The goal of the initiative was to make the Charles River swimmable and fishable by Earth Day 2005. The Charles River, considered one of the busiest recreational rivers in the county, flows for 80 miles through 23 towns and cities before discharging into Boston Harbor, a coastal embayment of Massachusetts Bay. Numerous agencies are all working cooperatively to achieve fishable/swimmable conditions in the Charles River. NOAA also has an interest is in improving river habitat for the benefit of resident and migratory natural resources. Twenty species of fish inhabit the Charles River. Four anadromous species include two species of river herring (alewife and blueback) and rainbow smelt and American shad.
The watershed project was developed to provide information and interpretive tools to aid in the multi-agency "Clean Charles 2005" Initiative. The project includes data for the entire 80 miles of the Charles River, but focuses on the reach below the Watertown Dam. The database integrates all of the available sediment chemistry data, sediment toxicity data, and fish tissue contaminant data and displays this on maps at various scales. The project’s objective is to provide users with the ability to query existing data and to view the data with maps that identify key features such as outfall locations. This combined database and mapping project may be used as a tool for data sharing, education, presentations and future river studies by regulatory agencies, citizen groups, academic investigators, and any other groups interested in the Charles River. Regulatory agencies can use the database-mapping tool to pinpoint areas for remedial action. NOAA will use this versatile tool to help managers make better decisions for cleanup and restoration of river habitat.
For related information on using this project:
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- Query Manager and MARPLOT An introduction to the Query Manager and MARPLOT applications that are used extensively throughout the ARD watershed projects.
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