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Boston Harbor South Watersheds2004 Assessment & 2004-2009 Action Plan
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NepRWA coordinated the work of five organizations to produce the Boston Harbor South Watersheds Assessment and Action Plan for the Massachusetts Executive Office of Environmental Affairs (EOEA). The Plan is comprised of five sections, covering the Neponset, Weir, Fore, and Back River Watersheds, as well as direct discharges into the Harbor from the City of Boston. The Mystic and Charles River Watersheds are covered in separate plans. The Boston Harbor Plan is designed to advise EOEA on priority actions to take to improve water quality and the aquatic environment, increase summer stream flows, and increase opportunities for swimming, fishing and boating.
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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.
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