Measuring and understanding streamflow is essential for monitoring river health and restoration planning. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) manages two gages on the Ipswich River (in Middleton and Ipswich) as part of their nationwide network. But as there are still many parts of the Ipswich River without gages, the Massachusetts Division of Ecological Restoration (DER) established and maintained several as part of their flow monitoring program. This is called the River Instream Flow Stewards Monitoring Program (RIFLS).
We are in the process of taking over the routine management of these gages. The RIFLS program will be incorporated into our existing RiverWatch monitoring program. The RIFLS monitoring sites include gages at Fish Brook in Boxford, Martins Brook in North Reading, and on the Ipswich River in North Reading. Volunteers will visit each location periodically and with a flow meter measure to make sure flow is within the expected range. Volunteer data will be compared to the data previously collected by DER. We plan to analyze this data as part of our efforts to better understand how water withdrawals impact river flows and river health.
Volunteers are needed to assist with reading a staff gage at each monitoring site. These volunteers will record at least two readings per week at each site and enter the data on the RIFLS website. If you would like to help read a staff gauge, contact Ryan at [email protected].