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Overview
The Surface Water Quality Standards (SWQS) Section in MassDEP’s Watershed Planning Program (WPP), Division of Watershed Management, is responsible for developing water quality criteria for surface waters and related policies; designating uses and associated classifications for surface waters; and implementing the MA SWQS regulation and policies that restore and prevent the degradation of surface waters. The criteria listed in the MA SWQS regulation are the foundation for MassDEP’s activities under the federal Clean Water Act (CWA), including water quality monitoring and assessments, and the development of plans to restore impaired surface waters. Water quality-based effluent limits in permits issued under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) and the Commonwealth’s Surface Water Discharge (SWD) programs are also derived from water quality criteria in the MA SWQS.
Data Layers
The 2013 version of the Massachusetts Surface Water Quality Standards (314 CMR 4.00) data layer comprises 3 feature classes:
- SWQS_2013_ARC (2013 Surface Waters Represented as Arcs),
- SWQS_2013_POLY (2013 Surface Waters Represented as Polygons), and
- SWQS_2013_TRIBUTARY_AREA (Tributaries thereto Watersheds) or (Boundaries for Tributaries thereto Watersheds)
The classes and qualifiers applied to surface water segments presented in Tables 1-28 of the 2013 MA SWQS at 314 CMR 4.06 and depicted in this layer are defined below. Not all Massachusetts surface waters are listed in the tables, and therefore not all surface waters, classes, and qualifiers are represented in this georeference. For all surface water class and qualifier designations see the 2013 MA SWQS (314 CMR 4.06).
Classes
| Class A | These waters include waters designated as a source of public water supply and their tributaries. They are designated as excellent habitat for fish, other aquatic life, and wildlife, including for their reproduction, migration, growth, and other critical functions, and for primary and secondary contact recreation, even if not allowed. These waters shall have excellent aesthetic value. These waters are protected as Outstanding Resource Waters. |
| Class B | These waters are designated as a habitat for fish, other aquatic life, and wildlife, including for their reproduction, migration, growth, and other critical functions, and for primary and secondary contact recreation. Where designated in 314 CMR 4.06, they shall be suitable as a source of public water supply with appropriate treatment (“Treated Water Supply”). Class B waters shall be suitable for irrigation and other agricultural uses and for compatible industrial cooling and process uses. These waters shall have consistently good aesthetic value. |
| Class B* | Marine waters Class SA; fresh waters Class B. |
| Class B (CSO) | Those Class B partial use Inland Waters occasionally subject to short-term impairment of swimming or other recreational uses due to untreated CSO discharges in a typical year, and the aquatic life community may suffer adverse impact yet is still generally viable. The uses for Class B waters are maintained after the implementation of long-term control measures described in the approved CSO long-term control plan except as identified in such plan (see 314 CMR 4.06(1)(d)11.) |
| Class SA | These waters are designated as an excellent habitat for fish, other aquatic life, and wildlife, including for their reproduction, migration, growth, and other critical functions, and for primary and secondary contact recreation. In certain waters, excellent habitat for fish, other aquatic life and wildlife may include, but is not limited to, seagrass. Where designated in the tables to 314 CMR 4.00 for shellfishing, these waters shall be suitable for shellfish harvesting without depuration (Approved and Conditionally Approved Shellfish Areas). These waters shall have excellent aesthetic value. |
| Class SA* | Marine waters Class SA; fresh waters Class B |
| Class SA* B* | Marine waters Class SA; fresh waters Class B. |
| Class SA, B* | Marine waters Class SA; fresh waters Class B. |
| Class SB | These waters are designated as a habitat for fish, other aquatic life, and wildlife, including for their reproduction, migration, growth, and other critical functions, and for primary and secondary contact recreation. In certain waters, habitat for fish, other aquatic life and wildlife may include, but is not limited to, seagrass. Where designated for shellfishing in 314 CMR 4.06(6)(b), these waters shall be suitable for shellfish harvesting with depuration (Restricted and Conditionally Restricted Shellfish Areas). These waters shall have consistently good aesthetic value. |
| Class SB (CSO) | Those Class SB partial use Coastal and Marine Waters occasionally subject to short-term impairment of swimming or other recreational uses due to untreated CSO discharges in a typical year, and the aquatic life community may suffer adverse impact yet is still generally viable. The uses for Class SB waters are maintained after the implementation of long-term control measures described in the approved CSO long-term control plan except as identified in such plan (see 314 CMR 4.06(1)(d)11.) |
| Class SB* B* | Marine waters Class SB; fresh waters Class B. |
| - | Listed without Class in Tables 1-27. |
| [blank] | Class is not included in Table 28. |
Qualifiers
| Aquatic Life | Denotes those waters where Class C dissolved oxygen and temperature criteria apply. This designation is made only where natural background conditions prevent the attainment of a "higher use" designation. |
| Cold Water | Denotes those waters where dissolved oxygen and temperature criteria for cold water fisheries apply. Cold water fisheries are waters in which the mean of the maximum daily temperature over a seven-day period generally does not exceed 68°F (20°C) and, when other ecological factors are favorable (such as habitat), are capable of supporting a year-round population of cold water stenothermal aquatic life such as trout (Salmonidae). |
| Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) | Denotes those waters identified as impacted by the discharge of combined sewer overflows; however, a long-term control plan has not been approved or fully implemented for the CSO discharges. CSOs are defined as any intermittent overflow, bypass or other discharge from a municipal combined sewer system which results from a wet-weather flow in excess of the dry-weather carrying capacity of the system. |
| High Quality Waters | Denotes waters whose quality exceeds minimum levels necessary to support the national goal uses, low-flow waters, and other waters whose character cannot be adequately described or protected by traditional criteria. These waters are designated for protection under 314 CMR 4.04(2). Other waters as described in 314 CMR 4.04(2) also are high quality, although they are not necessarily denoted as high quality in the classification tables. |
| Outstanding Resource Waters (ORW) | Denotes those waters designated in 314 CMR 4.00 as Outstanding Resource Waters (ORW). ORWs include Class A Public Water Supplies (314 CMR 4.06(1)(d)1.) and their tributaries, certain wetlands as specified in 314 CMR 4.06(2), certain surface waters designated in 314 CMR 4.06, Tables 1-27, and other waters as determined by the Department based on their outstanding socio-economic, recreational, ecological and/or aesthetic values. |
| Public Water Supply | Denotes those surface waters that may be used as a source of public drinking water for a public water system as defined in 310 CMR 22.00: Drinking Water. |
| Shellfishing | Denotes those waters subject to more stringent regulation in accordance with the rules and regulations of the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries pursuant to M.G.L. c. 130, § 75. These include applicable criteria of the National Shellfishing Sanitation Program. Approval for use of areas designated for shellfishing is issued by the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries. To determine whether a particular water designated for shellfishing also is approved for use, the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries and/or the appropriate local authority (usually the Shellfish Department) should be contacted. |
| Treated Water Supply | Denotes those Class B waters that are used as a source of public water supply after appropriate treatment. These waters may be subject to more stringent site-specific criteria established by the Department as appropriate to protect and maintain the use. See also, 310 CMR 22.00: Drinking Water. |
| Tributary to public water supply | Denotes those waters tributary to a public water supply. Only one such qualifier (for Karner Brook in the Housatonic River Basin) is listed in the MA SWQS. This qualifier is informational, as there is no definition of this qualifier at 314 CMR 4.06(1)(d). |
| Warm Water | Denotes those waters where dissolved oxygen and temperature criteria for warm water fisheries apply. Warm water fisheries are waters in which the maximum mean monthly temperature generally exceeds 68°F (20°C) during the summer months and are not capable of sustaining a year-round population of cold water stenothermal aquatic life. |
| - | Listed without a qualifier in Tables 1-27. |
| [blank] | A qualifier is not included in Table 28. |
Production
The geo-referencing of the 2013 MA SWQS classes and qualifiers relied on the linear water features (arcs) and water bodies (polygons) available in the MassGIS Hydrography 1:25,000 layer as of July 21, 2022. Gaps in any given segment depiction may be present because no appropriate arc exists (e.g., no arc is available through a wetland, a dam, or a mill building) or an available arc is being used to depict an overlapping segment. The tributary watersheds were derived from the MassDEP’s Drinking Water Program’s Surface Water Supply watersheds or created using the ArcMap point delineation tool.
Individual listings in the standards tables are depicted in their entirety in one of the three feature classes. For any surface water boundary descriptions containing “and tributaries thereto” language, the tributaries are depicted as an individual listing.
Tributaries Thereto: A tributary watershed polygon was created using MassDEP’s Surface Water Supply watersheds or using the ArcMap point delineation tool and selecting any available tributary hydro within those watersheds. If there were no tributaries evident, a tributary watershed was still created indicating the potential tributary area.
Overlaps: If the same water had multiple entries in the 2013 MA SWQS, some of the waters will appear as an incomplete stream or lake because the other portions of the surface water will have a different designation (in those cases, clarification of the overlap is provided in the comment field).
River Miles: River miles are linear measurements that begin at the mouth of the river (0.0) and increase in an upstream direction along its path. These river miles were originally determined by hand using map wheels for surface waters within MassDEP’s Central Regional boundaries and are for general informational purposes only.
The following surface waters listed in the 2013 MA SWQS are not depicted in the georeferenced layer:
1. The Shattuck Reservoir (Nashua River Basin, Table 17), which was never constructed,
2. The Swift River (Chicopee River Basin, Table 8) upstream of Windsor Dam and tributaries thereto, which is an overlap of the Quabbin Reservoir, and
3. Unnamed tributary to Elm Brook (Shawsheen River Basin, Table 28), for which no hydrography is available. Mill River (Blackstone River Basin, Table 11) and Punch Brook (Nashua River Basin, Table 17) are culverted streams for which limited data are available.
Disclaimer: MassDEP made every effort to carefully duplicate the text from the 2013 SWQS at 314 CMR 4.06, Tables 1 through 28; however, this data layer does not replace the tables. Per the 2013 SWQS at 314 CMR 4.06(5), in the case of inconsistency between the text in the tables at 314 CMR 4.06 and corresponding depictions as georeferenced information, the text in the tables shall control.
Attributes
Fields in the SWQS_2013_POLY and SWQS_2013_ARC attribute tables are as follows (the SWQS_2013_TRIBUTARY_AREA uses a sub-set of these fields):
| Reg_Date | Publication Year of the Massachusetts (MA) Surface Water Quality Standards (SWQS), 314 CMR 4.00. |
| Reg_Table | Number of the table listed in the 2013 MA SWQS at 314 CMR 4.06, Tables 1-28. |
| Reg_Basin | Names of the River Basins and Coastal Drainage Areas appearing in the 2013 MA SWQS at 314 CMR 4.06, Tables 1-28. These are watershed delineations based on the MassGIS Major Basins layer; modified to reflect surface drainage areas for use by WPP. |
| Waters | Single or grouped water names (these can be specific names e.g., ‘Echo Lake’ or generalized to encompass many waters, such as ‘Other coastal and marine waters in the Boston Harbor Drainage Area’). Waterbody names are based on three inventory systems: the Stream and River Inventory System (SARIS), Pond and Lake Inventory System (PALIS), or Coastal and Marine Inventory System (CAMIS). |
| Boundary | Location description for the surface water(s) or segment(s). |
| Mile_Point | A linear measurement that begins at the mouth of a river (mile 0.0) and increases in an upstream direction along its path. |
| Class | The designated water use Class for each surface water or segment in accordance with the 2013 MA SWQS. |
| Qualifier | Qualifiers assigned to a surface water or segment as designated in the 2013 MA SWQS. For example, warm water (WW), cold water (CW), and outstanding resource water (ORW). |
| Comment1 | Callout of issues associated with the representation of a surface water or segment; e.g., ‘overlaps with another entry’ or ‘various waters therefore no watercode provided’ |
| Comment2 | Continuation of comments if Comment1 exceeds 254 characters. |
| Watercode | Unique waterbody code based on SARIS, PALIS, or CAMIS inventory coding systems. If this field is blank, there is no code listed in the inventories or multiple waterbodies are encompassed in this table entry. |
| Waters28 | Those waters listed in the 2013 MA SWQS at 314 CMR 4.06, Table 28: Site-specific Criteria. |
| Boundary28 | Location description for the surface water or segment as provided in the 2013 MA SWQS at 314 CMR 4.06, Table 28: Site-specific Criteria. |
| Bnd28Cont | Continuation of boundary description if Boundary28 exceeds 254 characters. |
| Pollutant | The name of the pollutant for which site-specific criteria have been listed in the 2013 MA SWQS at 314 CMR 4.06, Table 28: Site-specific Criteria. |
| SSCriteria | Site-specific criteria concentrations as listed in the 2013 MA SWQS at 314 CMR 4.06, Table 28: Site-specific Criteria. |
| Comment28a | Callout of issues associated with the representation of site-specific criteria for a surface water or segment; e.g., explanation of any asterisks. |
| Comment28b | Continuation of comments if Comment28a exceeds 254 characters. |
Except for standard GIS items (e.g., Shape_Length (meters), Shape_Area (square meters), Shape, OBJECTID, FID), all attributes were obtained from MassDEP’s WPP.
Maintenance
Updates to the Massachusetts Surface Water Quality Standards (314 CMR 4.00)
The Commonwealth is required under the CWA to regularly review the MA SWQS regulation, a process that includes stakeholder engagement, inter-agency coordination, review of water quality criteria for adoption, public notice and hearings, and promulgation. The MA SWQS regulation must then be approved by USEPA before it is federally enforceable for CWA purposes. MassDEP amended the MA SWQS in 2021 and is updating the georeference, which will be published in the near future. As future MA SWQS reviews occur, MassDEP will continue to update this data layer, although previous versions will remain available.
Future iterations
For the latest updates regarding the MA SWQS regulation, visit the Massachusetts Surface Water Quality Standards webpage or contact Richard Carey (508-767-2894), Anna Mayor (508-849-4005), or Caitlin Riddick (508-767-2867) in MassDEP’s Watershed Planning Program.