Friends of the Bay is the only organization whose sole focus is protecting the quality of the water in the Oyster Bay/Cold Spring Harbor Complex.
Friends of the Bay staff and volunteers take water samples and collect scientific data at nineteen sites throughout the harbor on a weekly basis from April through October. Ten streams and outfalls located in the watershed area are monitored as well in order to develop a more comprehensive assessment of conditions affecting the harbor.
In order to ensure that Friends of the Bay’s water quality monitoring program is providing reliable and usable data to local, state, and federal agencies, FOB applied for and received a Quality Assurance Project Plan from the Environmental Protection Agency in 2005. In March of 2009, the EPA honored our water quality monitoring program with an award recognizing us as an organization which has contributed significantly to the environment. Maintaining and improving water quality is crucial to the health of the animal and plant life within the estuary.