After months of troubleshooting and delays, the wet lab at River House has finally been established. Just a stone’s throw away from the Bronx River itself, this lab will allow our Ecology Coordinator and Director of Environmental Stewardship to process water samples for Enterococcus, a fecal bacteria that indicates the presence of raw sewage, and microplastics, microscopic plastic particles that are almost impossible to see but threaten aquatic ecosystems around the world. The pandemic put all of our volunteer and stewardship programs on hold, including Project Water DROP (Detecting River Outfalls and Pollutants) which investigates the issue of raw sewage polluting the Bronx River. With the wet lab now up and running, this program will proceed (with only staff for this year!) Due to the late start time, we will be collecting data during the cold months which has never been done before, allowing us to see what water quality looks like during the winter versus the summer. Be on the lookout for this unique data in the future!
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