DISQUS

woodysix8 · 5 months ago

Andrew, your title would insinuate that the river "smells"

I grew up in Nashua and remember when the canal and river did smell...same with Salmon brook and Sandy Pond.

I didn't recall the River smelling on my last several visits... I also recall seeing a blue heron taking off which I had never seen during my childhood.

Maybe you were near the hobo camp when you made your observation.

Andrew_Wolfe · 5 months ago

Riding over the bridge at Hollis Depot last evening, the river smelled faintly of turpentine. Usually it just has a sort of murky, organic but not entirely pleasant odor. Try paddling up it, and into the Nissitissit, and see if you don't notice the difference. Some rivers just smell (and taste) better than others, just as some lakes are more clear than others.
I understand, like most rivers it used to be much worse. Thank the Clean Water Act and tougher environmental regulations. I see heron routinely, and there have been osprey nesting there too (gone, last I looked). Beavers, of course, and I once saw a mink.
Salmon Brook smells absolutely vile; stand on the sidewalk where it flows over the dam and see if you can take it for more than a minute. I'm not sure what happens to that stream, it seems pretty clear as it flows into Nashua, but by the time it reaches Fields Grove it's disgusting.

Dan · 5 months ago

Because treated wastewater is discharged into the river from points upstream, you are going to have what I call for lack of a better term-a "musty" smell. When the ratio of river water to treated waste discharge drops then the musty smell increases. The Merrimack has this smell at different times of the year as well, mostly low water periods. When I was working in the bay area of CA, i noticed this smell everywhere- turns out the hotels and homeowners use this treated sewer water for irrigation of flowers and landscaping-same smell. They call it grey water. They don't want to waste potable water on irrigation there.

Ashley Bennett · 4 months ago

So is it safe to swim in? at least a few time a week my friends and I float down a part of the river to where the rope swing is and my parents have told me that they would not swim in it, but i'm just trying to understand all this, is it safe for us to swim there?

Andrew_Wolfe · 4 months ago

In general, yes, it is safe, though right now the current might be awful strong. I swim there sometimes myself. Check out the water quality test results in the 'Special Reports' section of this website, and show your parents.