Application Note: ECSI Manages Habitat In High Hydrogen Sulfide Environments With Optical DO

PSEG, a New Jersey power generation company, has worked with the states of Delaware and New Jersey to construct fish passage facilities at twelve dams along tributaries of the Delaware River and Bay to restore fish habitat within the Delaware River Basin. The basin comprises 13,539 square miles, including portions of Delaware, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. Environmental Consulting Services Inc. (ECSI), of Middletown, Delaware has been maintaining and monitoring the success of the fish ladders during the spring spawning migrations of Alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus) and Blueback herring (Alosa aestivalis).

The watershed types of the newly opened habitat include forest, cultivated agricultural land, residential, and dense urban land. This diversity of land use results in differences in point and nonpoint discharges of water into the streams. Measuring water conditions is a significant part of the overall monitoring program. ECSI has been using YSI temperature, salinity, and dissolved oxygen handheld meters to evaluate the water quality for many years. These meters have proven to be real work horses for ECSI in the numerous monitoring programs. They currently maintain ten meters for use on various fisheries monitoring projects in the Mid-Atlantic region.