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MASSACHUSETTS
Reopening polluted shellfish beds for harvesting is a priority for the
Massachusetts Nonpoint Source Program, particularly in the North River. This
river has scenic river protection status with deed restrictions on almost all
properties within 300 feet of the riverbank. To achieve success, the state has
embarked upon a program to assist local water quality organizations in
identification, construction, education, regulation, enforcement, and follow-up
monitoring.
Local Group Working to Reopen Shellfish Beds
The closing of shellfish beds contaminated from bacterial pollution
concerns many citizens of the North and South Rivers watershed, located south
of Boston above Plymouth. So the North and South Rivers Watershed Association
(NSRWA), made up of a group of active, concerned volunteers, decided to tackle
the problem. Although state and local authorities had previously done some
water quality studies, funding had disappeared. With a combination of private
donations, section 319 funds, a Massachusetts Bays grant for Action Plan
Demonstration Project, and other monies, the group was able to restart the
monitoring project and work toward mitigation efforts. More than 40 volunteers
have worked over the last three years to sample water quality before, during,
and after rainstorms; identify the hot spots; and work with landowners and
local communities to clean them up.
To determine specific pollution sources, volunteers followed pipes,
inspected catch basins, and searched for illegal hookups. Their investigation
found that the bacterial pollution, particularly rampant after rainfalls, was
caused by failing septic systems, stormwater discharges, illegal septic
connections, and roosting birds. Working with individual polluters to correct
situations and with the local boards of health to enforce local ordinances, the
group made great strides in cleaning up the North River. Specific actions
included upgrading septic systems, eliminating illegal connections, installing
boat septage pumping facilities, constructing stormwater best management
practices, and educating landowners and the general public. A retrofit
infiltration system for the North River is being constructed, with a
Massachusetts Bays grant covering half the construction cost.
The experience in the North River encouraged the group to take on the South
River, a major tributary that had not been looked at for some 20 years. A
survey of storm drains identified five priority areas that were then monitored
before, during, and after rainstorms. The South River report on storm drains,
including schematic design and suggested approaches, was made possible with
section 319 money left at the end of the North River work.
With approximately $35,000 of section 319 money and funding from other
sources, the association has successfully melded local, state, and federal
resources in an ongoing effort to clean up the rivers and extend the schedule
for harvesting shellfish. Its data will supplement that of the Massachusetts
Division of Marine Fisheries, the agency that determines the schedule for
additional harvesting days.
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