The Miles River is a major tributary of the Ipswich River, flowing from its source in Beverly through extensive wetlands before reaching the Ipswich River in Ipswich. Surrounding wetlands provide good habitat for wildlife, but the Miles River has water quality problems that include low flow and high levels of fertilizer nutrients from surface runoff. The number and types of aquatic macroinvertebrates, a good indicator of habitat quality, are below healthy levels. The site has been monitored by volunteers since 1999.
At 10 am on a Sunday morning I headed out to where Route 1A crosses this tributary to meet with its Riverwatch monitors. The night’s rain had let up to a sunny, if chilly, day. Chris Sobotowski and Deborah Cassady were already at the bridge with a bucket when I arrived. While they were doing a dissolved oxygen test, I chatted with them. Both had come well-prepared with the orange peels that are used to measure the river’s velocity. Chris sent a few peel pieces down. They moved fairly swiftly; the flow of the river was strong after the recent precipitation. I had seen the water flowing into the Miles River along its banks as the meltwaters and thawing groundwater fed this tributary and make its way into the Ipswich.
I had also noticed abundant wildlife where the Miles River connects with the Ipswich: otters, Great Blue Herons, and wood ducks all sighted in its waters. Deborah and Chris told me about the Great Blue that often stops by their testing site to fish. It’s thanks to these RiverWatch monitors however, that we know the persistent problems not hinted at by the present wildlife.
Monitors have recorded dissolved oxygen levels in the summer months that are consistently below healthy levels for fish and aquatic life. Conductivity, a measure of how many dissolved substances are in the water, is often above healthy levels. Monitoring is helping to illustrate the problems with flow and land use that need to be addressed through ongoing restoration and advocacy work. Some new crossings have been built to improve flows, but more needs to be done. As one of the main tributaries of the Ipswich River, the Miles River and its surrounding watershed are an important part of the overall health of the Ipswich River environment that we are working to protect.
As the last orange peel disappeared around the bend I thanked Deborah and Chris as the two monitors began packing up, looking forward to, on that particular morning, returning to the warm indoors.