Pilot Watershed Initiative

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is pleased to announce the Year One funding of $799,993 through EPA's Southeast New England Program (SNEP) to support projects by five organizations as a part of the new SNEP Pilot Watershed Initiative. This funding is the first installment of an expected $3,750,000 across the five projects over the next five years. Project partners are also expected to leverage an additional $1,367,380 in matching funds. These projects are intended to demonstrate how concentrated, collaborative efforts and holistic planning can more effectively address common environmental challenges in coastal southeast New England. Demonstrating watershed scale solutions is a key piece of SNEP's Five-Year Strategic Plan and ultimately an important part of promoting safe and clean water, healthy habitats, and thriving communities.

Brief descriptions of each Pilot Watershed

Pilot Watershed Funding 2021 – 2025:

Buzzards Bay Coalition: Buttonwood Brook-Apponagansett Bay Restoration Action Plan
$749,780 Total (FY22 Amount: $149,998)

The Buzzards Bay Coalition (BBC) will partner with a broad Watershed Partnership including the City of New Bedford, the Town of Dartmouth, the Buttonwood Zoo, the Friends of Buttonwood Park, and the Dartmouth Natural Resources Trust to address excess nutrients and stream alterations in an urbanized area within the Apponagansett Bay watershed. BBC will complete a nutrient threshold study and update water quality data to better understand current conditions. Physical stream impairments will also be assessed in Buttonwood Brook to understand impacts to stream function. The Watershed Partnership will identify and prioritize the sources of highest pollutant load as well as the most adverse stream alterations and will work with local communities to collaboratively develop strategic restoration designs and begin implementation of shared water quality, stream function, and habitat improvement goals.

UNH Stormwater Center: Green and Resilient Infrastructure Implementation Program for Martha's Vineyard
$749,225 Total (FY22: $149,995)

The UNH Stormwater Center will team up with the Town of Tisbury, the Martha's Vineyard Commission, and the Massachusetts Department of Transportation to determine cost-effective, efficient ways to address stormwater pollution throughout the Town of Tisbury. The UNH Stormwater Center will lead this collaborative effort to implement stormwater control strategies in the Tisbury's Lagoon Pond watershed that will demonstrate the effectiveness of concentrating small-scale stormwater measures to restore hydrologic balance and address local water quality and flooding issues. The Collaborative will work to cap increases of nutrient pollution by drafting local ordinances that mandate stormwater filtration and infiltration strategies and will implement several structural stormwater control measures to further address nutrient pollution concerns in the subwatershed.

Barnstable Clean Water Coalition (Three Bays Preservation Inc.): Marston Mills Watershed Innovative and Alternative Watershed Management Implementation and Monitoring
$750,000 Total (FY22 Amount: $150,000)

The Barnstable Clean Water Coalition (BCWC) will work with the Town of Barnstable, The Nature Conservancy, and the Native Land Conservancy to protect and restore a cranberry bog in Marstons Mills, Massachusetts. BCWC will purchase portions of the bog complex for permanent protection and, using nature-based nitrogen control techniques, ecologically restore the bog in a way that decreases nitrogen loading to the watershed, increases water quality, increases flood resiliency, and restores ecosystem function and habitat. BCWC and partners will monitor water quality near the restoration site and in downstream receiving waters to measure impacts. This project will explore the effectiveness of using a new technology that may eventually be used to reduce nitrogen while restoring the many retiring cranberry bogs in the SNEP region.

Town of Charlestown, RI: The Greater Allen's Cove and Eastern Ninigret Pond Pilot Watershed Program
$749,999 Total (FY22 Amount: $150,000)

The Town of Charlestown, Rhode Island will partner with the University of Rhode Island, the Salt Pond Coalition, and Save the Bay to holistically manage pollution from septic systems and stormwater in Greater Allen's Cove and Eastern Ninigret Pond, while transferring lessons learned through hands-on training and a guidance document. Charlestown will site, install, and monitor up to 13 innovative/alternative nitrogen reducing septic system upgrades in high wastewater contribution areas, while also installing rain gardens and/or vegetated buffers in stormwater contribution areas. The Town will also increase local and regional capacity in stormwater and wastewater management by developing and executing hands-on trainings for professionals in those fields and will develop a comprehensive watershed management program guidance document for use by other communities looking to create an effective and scalable septic system management program. The project should ultimately reduce the amount of nitrogen from storm and wastewater and serve as an example for other communities looking to holistically manage their nitrogen pollution.

Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council: Turning the Tide in the Woonasquatucket River Watershed $750,000 Total (FY22 Amount: $150,000)

The Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council will partner with regional RI communities, the RI Green Infrastructure Coalition, the RI Rivers Council, the Providence Resilience Partnership, the Central Providence Health Equity Zone/Olneyville Collaborative, and the RIDOT Office of Stormwater to 1) Use existing pilot programs that capture and clean stormwater using nature-based solutions to illustrate the importance of prioritizing cleaning polluted runoff; 2) Build on existing relationships to locate problems and explore creative solutions to improve the health of local waters and increase the resilience of local communities in the face of climate change; and 3) Engage students, volunteers, and especially frontline residents and businesses in understanding the issues, monitoring changes, and speaking up for equitable solutions.

Total Funding Over Five Years:

Grantee	Major SNEP Sub-Area	Project	SNEP Award	Match (est.)	Total
Buzzards Bay Coalition	Buzzards Bay	Buttonwood Brook-Apponagansett Bay Restoration Action Plan	$749,780	$256,919	$1,006,699
UNH Stormwater Center	Martha's Vineyard	Green and Resilient Infrastructure Implementation Program for Martha's Vineyard	$749,225	$153,141	$902,366
Barnstable Clean Water Coalition	Cape Cod	Marston Mills Watershed Innovative and Alternative Watershed Management Implementation and Monitoring	$750,000	$150,000	$900,000
Town of Charlestown, RI	Narragansett Bay	The Greater Allen's Cove and Eastern Ninigret Pond Pilot Watershed Program	$749,999	$657,320	$1,407,319
Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council	Narragansett Bay	Turning the Tide in the Woonasquatucket River Watershed	$750,000	$150,000	$900,000
Total			$3,749,004	$1,367,380	$5,116,384