UPPER ASSABET RIVER MAY & SEPTEMER Northern Section SITES ABT-033 (Rte 62, West Concord): QC only ABT-312 (Mill Road, Westboro) Hop-011 (Hop Brook, Northboro) ABT-301 (Rte 9, Westboro) NTH-009 (Pleasant Street, Berlin) Southern Section
Office and Quality Control Site OARS Office: 23 Bradford Street 2 nd Floor Rear, West Concord From Rte 2, take Rte 62 west towards West Concord. At the fork (facing the 99 Restaurant), bear right onto Commonwealth Ave. Cross the railroad tracks and take a left onto Bradford Street. Turn in to the parking lot in front of building #23 and park near the front. Our office door is near the front of the building. Second floor, end of the hall on the left. CALL THE OFFICE IF THE DOOR IS NOT OPEN ABT-033 Route 62, West Concord: METER SAMPLING ONLY From the OARS office, go back out Bradford Street and turn right (east) on Commonwealth Ave. The site is on the right, before you cross the river, about 1.1 mi. from the office. Pass the Dunkin Donuts and park in the lot for the dry cleaners and Pet Source. In-situ sampling is done from the bridge.
ABT-312 Mill Road, Westborough From Rte 495 take exit 23 to Rte 9 West. Go west along Rte 9 about 3.5 miles and take the exit for Rte 135 (Milk Street) East. Go 0.7 mi. then take a right onto Fisher St. Take a left onto Mill Road and park just past the bridge over the Assabet. Access the river on the downstream side of the bridge, across the grassy embankment. The gage is on the downstream right bridge abutment. The sampling site is on the downstream side of the bridge. The cross-section for estimating Channel Flow Status is just downstream of the end of the bridge abutment, where the river widens.
HOP-011 Hop Brook, Northborough From ABT-312 go back along Mill Road and take a left onto Fisher Street then a right on Otis Street. Go north on Otis Street crossing Rte 9 and continue 0.7 mi. to the small bridge over Hop Brook (below Smith Pond). Pull into the lot behind Armeno Coffee Roasters. The staff gage and sampling site are about 50 yds. downstream of the bridge along the rock wall. The hydraulic control for the gage is the rocky riffle just about even with the low section in the bank. This is also the cross-section for assessing Channel Flow Status.
ABT-301 Route 9 bridge, Westborough From HOP-011 go back along Otis St. to Rte 9. Turn left onto Rte 9 East. Drive east about 0.8 mi. to the bridge over the Assabet. Park at the edge of the now-closed Ardwick Gardens lot just before the bridge. Walk along the newly cleared path down to the river. Sample from the river below the bridge on the upstream side. This site is downstream from the Westborough WWTP. Parking Path
NTH-009 North Brook, Berlin From ABT-301 continue east on Rte 9 for 0.4 miles. Take the exit for Rte 135 West, and turn right onto Rte 135. Go 2.8 miles and turn left onto Main Street and then right onto Church Street. Bear right on the Whitney Street, and go 2.5 miles. Bear left to stay on Whitney. Park in the dirt pullout just after the second bridge over the outlet to Wheeler Pond. Access the stream on the upstream, right side of the bridge (poison ivy!) to read the staff gage and take bottle samples. In-situ sampling can be done from the bridge. The hydraulic control for the gage is under and downstream of the bridge. The Channel Flow Status cross-section is by the downstream wing-walls of the bridge.
Return to OARS Office From NTH-009, continue on Pleasant Street and take a right onto South Street. At the rotary take the second spur to River Road. Take the on-ramp to Rte 290 East. Take Rte 495 North to Rte 2 East. Go east on Rte 2 to the rotary in Concord. Take the first spur onto Commonwealth Ave. At the junction, take a left staying on Commonwealth Ave., and a right onto Bradford Street. Do not bring the samples upstairs! Let me know you re here and we ll check in the samples in the parking lot.