Water Quality In Southport Harbor, Sasco Creek Will Be Studied

FAIRFIELD, CT — As part of an effort to better understand water quality issues along the Connecticut shoreline, researchers will be collecting water samples from Fairfield's Southport Harbor and Sasco Creek for the next three years.

A study is being conducted by the Fairfield Harbor Management Commission in collaboration with the U.S. Geological Survey and the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.

Its goal is to expand scientific knowledge of water quality issues — specifically, whether excessive nutrients in the streams and rivers that flow into Long Island Sound are contributing to the loss of eelgrass, an important underwater fish habitat.

In May, scientists will start installing equipment — including a marked buoy platform at the mouth of Southport Harbor and instruments at the Pequot Yacht Club — to collect water quality data.

Data will be collected automatically, and scientists will manually collect water samples at those two locations and at the mouth of Sasco Creek under the Pequot Avenue bridge as well.

"We're pleased to work together with USGS and CT DEEP in this research," said Kim Taylor, chair of the Fairfield Harbor Management Commission. "We believe many in Fairfield are already aware of the water quality issues in the Long Island Sound when too much nitrogen and other micronutrients from fertilizer runoff upstream in our rivers and creeks flow into the sound. The result has been the excessive growth of algae and blooms of phytoplankton."

The data collected will help lawmakers create policies designed to improve Long Island Sound's habitat and environment — for both its marine life and the people who live nearby.

"We're confident the Fairfield boating and fishing community will also support this important work," said Bryan LeClerc, harbor master of Fairfield and Southport. "We all have an interest in collecting scientific information that can help improve harbor and Long Island Sound water quality in the future."