Promoting Citizen Science in Pelham Using Crowdsourced Water Level Monitoring

Concord, NH — The New Hampshire Silver Jackets, a state-federal interagency flood risk management team, which includes the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (NHDES) recently collaborated with the Town of Pelham to install a CrowdHydrology staff gage positioned below the Willow Street Bridge on Beaver Brook. This will enhance local flood forecasting and response capabilities while presenting an opportunity for community engagement in citizen science.

The staff gage is conveniently located in the landing area below the bridge. Volunteers can participate by simply reading the water level on the gage and texting the station number, along with the reading, to the phone number provided on-site.

These submissions are incorporated into a long-term database hosted on the CrowdHydrology website, which is accessible free-of-charge to schools, resource management agencies, watershed organizations and anyone interested in utilizing hydrologic data.

CrowdHydrology originated in the northeast in 2010 and has since expanded across North America as a robust crowdsourcing initiative. Leveraging citizen science helps address data gaps in streams, rivers or lakes that may lack resources for more advanced measurement tools.

This marks the second installation of a CrowdHydrology stream gage in New Hampshire. In 2022, the New Hampshire Silver Jackets collaborated with the City of Keene to successfully install a water level gage near downtown. Since its installation in September 2022, there have been over 200 readings, aiding engineers and scientists to further understand flood responses of water levels in an urban stream during the heavy precipitation events last summer.

"The installation of the stream gage in Pelham continues to offer opportunities for public contribution to scientific data collection. These efforts are invaluable for providing real-time data that informs flood trends and ultimately enhances public safety," said Brian Hauschild, Geoscience Program Specialist with the New Hampshire Geological Survey at NHDES, and member of the New Hampshire Silver Jackets.

Water level measurements at the new site have been recorded on a weekly basis since the gage was installed. Community members are encouraged to visit the site at the Willow Street Bridge in Pelham to gather more data and take part in local citizen science.

For further information, please contact Brian Hauschild (NHDES) at Brian.K.Hauschild@des.nh.gov or (603) 271-7332, or Dena Hoffman (Town of Pelham) at dhoffman@pelhamweb.com or (603) 508-3000 ext. 3101.

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