| Ipswich
River Restoration: EPA Targeted Watershed Grant
The Ipswich River winds 45 miles from Burlington, Massachusetts,
to Plum Island Sound in Ipswich. Its 155-square-mile watershed encompasses
all or part of 21 communities. The river has been an economic and
ecological asset within northeastern Massachusetts since pre-colonial
times, supporting productive fisheries and shellfish beds, and for
over a hundred years has powered shipbuilders, tanneries, and textile
mills. The river and its aquifers are also a critical source of
drinking water for hundreds of thousands of people who live both
within and outside of the watershed’s boundaries.
But the Ipswich River is in trouble. American
Rivers, a national rivers protection organization, named the Ipswich
River the third most endangered river in the country in 2003. This
designation reflects the severe and chronic reductions in flow the
river has experienced, particularly since the mid-1990s. During
the last ten years, long sections of the river have frequently dried
up altogether.
An Integrated Solution
The Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR)
received a $1.04 million grant from the Environmental Protection
Agency’s Targeted
Watershed program to demonstrate an integrated approach to addressing
the problems facing the Ipswich River. This approach encompasses
two strategies:
- Low-Impact Development (LID) – landscaping and design
techniques that capture stormwater and recharge it to the groundwater
- Water Conservation – education strategies and technologies
that reduce demand on water supplies, and associated groundwater
pumping, especially during dry months
On this web site, you can learn about:
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