New Hampshire has over 800 lakes and ponds and over 19,000 miles of rivers and streams. This freshwater provides drinking water, sustains local wildlife, and fuels a significant portion of the state’s tourism and recreation industry, according to University of New Hampshire researchers.
Scientists at UNH have been figuring out how to best protect and preserve that resource for generations to come. Their research, which ranges from concerns about cyanobacteria in local lakes to investigations about the use of duckweed as a water pollution mitigation tool, is part of the latest INSPIRED report.
Eleven research briefs focused on water quality and management from UNH researchers are included in the report.
Anton Bekkerman, director of the New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Station, said these reports attempt to make UNH’s scientific research accessible to a broader audience.
“It’s getting that science to those professionals that can make the difference on the ground,” he said.
Researchers emphasized how crucial it is to monitor waterways over extended periods of time to document the effects of climate change. One of the studies featured in the report tracked rising levels of nitrate in the Lamprey River over 20 years, which researchers said is likely caused by increased suburbanization in the region. Nitrate can be harmful to ecological and human health.
“As more people move to New Hampshire, as that landscape changes, that water quality reflects those changes within the landscape,” said Adam Wymore, a professor at UNH who helped lead the research.
He said collecting data long-term – like he and his colleagues have been doing at the Lamprey River Hydrological Observatory – is crucial for seeing the impacts of climate change, which can be missed in more short-term data sets.
Wymore’s research underscored the interconnectedness of New Hampshire’s waterways, documenting how the Lamprey River’s conditions impact the Great Bay estuary, which it flows into.
“Streams and rivers are the great integrators of the landscape,” he said. “They show all the change, and they are impacted significantly by what happens on the landscape.”