For Immediate Release: 2/27/2020 4:19 pm
The City of Worcester Department of Public Works & Parks will present “The State of the Lakes: Community Initiatives to Track and Improve Water Quality” on Wednesday, March 4 at 6 p.m. at the Blackstone Heritage Corridor Visitor Center (3 Paul Clancy Way).
The presentation will be conducted by Jacquelyn Burmeister, senior environmental analyst for the Department of Public Works & Parks.
Worcester’s more than 20 lakes and ponds are valuable recreational resources. This presentation will provide an overview of the exiting projects to study and improve local waterways, including invasive aquatic plant removal, cyanobacteria monitoring and mitigation and some of the new technologies being implemented to solve these challenges.
Residents often play a key role in observing changes in the city’s water quality, complementing municipal and state efforts. Attendees will learn how to volunteer as a “citizen scientist” as part of the Worcester Cyanobacteria Monitoring Collaborative which contributes to a nationwide study to understand local water quality.
“Worcester’s blue spaces provide recreational opportunities not only for residents but also our environmental justice communities who have little access to other private or regional water resources,” said City Manager Edward M. Augustus, Jr. “We’re fortunate to have local watershed associations with eager and interested volunteers working with our City staff to make a difference in the quality of our waters.”
Current “citizen scientists” will be in attendance to share the cyanobacteria observations they have made over the past three years and what it means for the water quality in Worcester’s lakes.
To learn more about Worcester’s recreational waters, visit: www.worcesterma.gov/water-sewer/recreational-waters.
