Neponset
River Watershed Assessment & Action Plan
NepRWA
identified a variety of problems in the Watershed, some of
which were unknown to government authorities.
The Action Plan lists priority action items as
well key locations for state, federal, and municipal
government implementation, as well as for the work of citizen
groups like NepRWA.
NepRWA
will be organizing efforts in individual watershed towns to
implement the Action Plan through activities such as:
Volunteer-based
water quality monitoring, shoreline surveys, and
identification of local “hot spots,”
Educating
the public as well as Town Boards on key issues,
Studying
issues and developing model bylaws and best management
practices,
Conducting
demonstration projects,
Establishing
citizen/advocate networks to strengthen the constituency for
sound watershed management and open lines of public
communication, and
Advocating
for adequate funding at state and municipal levels.
2004
Neponset River Watershed Assessment
The
Neponset Assessment looked at water quality, hydrology,
physical habitat, land use and open space.
Primary conclusions of the Assessment include:
Water
Quality. Bacteria
(pathogens) and nutrients are the most common and widespread
problems in the watershed.
Based on samples gathered from 1999 through 2003 by
NepRWA’s volunteer Citizen Water Quality Monitoring Network
(CWMN), the Assessment identified numerous stream segments
that had not previously been categorized as impaired by the
Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).
Other water pollution problems include low dissolved
oxygen levels (related to low flow); metals and toxics
including PCBs and mercury; turbidity and siltation; trash,
debris and other aesthetic impairments.
Hydrology
and Physical Habitat.
Low streamflows are having the greatest adverse effects
on fish and other aquatic wildlife and habitat, as well as on
pollution levels and boating.
In low streamflow conditions, aquatic pollutants are
concentrated in the waterway. Causes of low streamflows mostly
include excessive water use and the transfer of Neponset water
into Boston Harbor via MWRA sewers.
Also, seepage of clean groundwater into cracked sewer
pipes, and leakage of drinking water from cracked sewer pipes,
are significant causes of low flow. Additionally, habitat
along waterways is highly modified by dams, which reduce
habitat for river species.
Land
Use and Open Space. The
primary problem is that a quarter of the watershed (including
open water) is comprised of impervious surfaces like roads,
parking lots, rooftops, driveways, etc.
Impervious surfaces increase water pollution and reduce
groundwater recharge. Additionally,
the removal of natural areas of vegetation along waterways and
its replacement with lawn has reduced the infiltration of
water into our groundwater supplies, increased erosion and
siltation within the waterways, and reduced wildlife habitat
and diversity. Finally,
open space, especially open space providing public access to
waterways, is very limited in the watershed.
2004
– 2009 Neponset River Watershed Action Plan
For
the most part, NepRWA recommends that the federal and state
authorities, as well as MWRA, greatly increase funding (via
new user fees) for monitoring, research and implementation and
that they get tougher on enforcement of existing water quality
rules. Local
governments are urged to fully implement all Clean Water Act
requirements (e.g., stormwater and sewer maintenance rules),
to strengthen their local bylaws (e.g., to require septic
pumping, limit lawn watering, and require that new development
be done in a more environmentally sensitive manner), and to
raise sewer and water rates to accurately reflect full costs
(including environmental costs and the expense of repairing
long neglected sewer infrastructure).
Specifically,
priority action items covered:
Sewer
system improvements, including: full implementation of
Neponset Watershed bacteria TMDL; and banning sewer extensions
and capacity expansions until current systems are properly
maintained and illegal discharges cease;
Stormwater
management and groundwater recharge, including: adequate
funding for local governments to comply with new federal
stormwater rules; decentralized stormwater treatment and
mitigation of off-site stormwater problems for new development
and redevelopment; and local stormwater by-laws as strict as
state rules for wetlands;
Septic
management, including: mandatory septic tank pump-outs,
and septic as preferred wastewater treatment for homes;
Management
of landscaped areas, including strict development rules,
especially for waterfront property owners;
Water
Supply and Streamflows, including: habitat-based, seasonal
minimum streamflow requirements; classification of the entire
Neponset Watershed as “highly stressed”; stricter rules
for water conservation;
Riverine
habitat, including: removal of T&H and Baker Dams and
risk assessments of removal for other dams; more expenditures
from Open Space Bond Fund; and plan for invasive plant
species;
Public
access to waterways, including boat ramp in estuary, more
canoe launches for freshwater;
Watershed
assessment, including: more state and federal funding for
citizen based monitoring; and development of a Nutrient TMDL;
Innovative
strategies of financing, regional collaboration, and adapting
general remediation techniques to local conditions,
including: Sewer Trust Fund modeled on Highway Trust Fund;
water and sewer fees that fully reflect costs, including
deferred maintenance costs; regional collaboratives to achieve
economies of scale; and Citizen/Advocate Committees for each
town.
The
Neponset River Watershed Assessment and Action Plan
Reports form a part of the larger Boston Harbor South
Watersheds Assessment and Action Plan, which also covers the
Fore, Weir and Back River Watersheds as well as directs Harbor
discharges by the City of Boston. The entire Boston Harbor Assessment and Action Plan
should soon be available at:
http://www.mass.gov/envir/water/publications.htm
For
more information, contact Steve Pearlman at 781-575-0354 or pearlman@neponset.org.
Click
here (3,076 KB) to view the
Neponset River Watershed
Assessment.
Click
here (435 KB) to view the
Neponset River Watershed
Action Plan.
