Those who swim or boat on the Connecticut River and its tributaries can go online to check the water quality at their favorite spots.
The Connecticut River Conservancy’s "Is It Clean?" webpage lists results from weekly or bi-weekly testing done at nearly 200 sites in Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and northern Connecticut.
“We hope that the public uses it ... and uses it in a way that helps them make a decision about the place that they go — does it tend to be high bacteria? Low bacteria?" said Andrea Donlon, river steward with the conservancy.
Samples taken from the river sites are tested for E. coli bacteria.
The conservancy says as a general rule, it’s a good idea to stay out of the water for 24-to-48 hours after a heavy rain because bacteria levels often rise due to polluted runoff flowing into rivers.
