2023 Grants
Central Massachusetts Regional Planning Commission - Blackstone River Watershed-Based Plan - $153,215
The Central Massachusetts Regional Planning Commission (CMRPC) is partnering with the Blackstone Watershed Collaborative (BWC), the Blackstone River Coalition (BRC), and the Blackstone River Watershed Association (BRWA) to document watershed conditions and identify management measures for improving water quality and aquatic habitat in the Blackstone River and its tributaries. The project will result in the development of a high-level Watershed-Based Plan (WBP) for the Massachusetts portion of the Blackstone River Watershed. The WBP will identify recommended management measures generalized by land use or municipal practice, which will position communities to pursue 319 Grant funding and will increase community engagement. The WBP will include a roadmap for future subwatershed-level planning efforts, future funding applications, and a proposed process to integrate future subwatershed-level planning with the watershed-wide planning over a multi-year process towards comprehensive water quality restoration.
Southeastern Regional Planning and Economic Development District - Buzzards Bay Regional Watershed Planning for Nitrogen Impacted Areas - $160,865
The Southeastern Regional Planning and Economic Development District (SRPEDD) will facilitate regional watershed planning efforts to address nitrogen pollution within the Buzzards Bay Watershed. In collaboration with Mass Audubon and regional partners, SRPEDD will conduct community outreach, perform a thorough data review, collect water quality data to address any data gaps, and identify sources of and mitigation strategies for nitrogen pollution in the watershed. The objective of the planning activities covered under this project will establish a baseline for each of the 19 Buzzards Bay subwatersheds to facilitate the development of Watershed-Based Plans under a future project to address nitrogen pollution throughout the region.
City of Boston - Faneuil Brook Subwatershed Plan and Water Quality Assessment of Chandler Pond - $44,780
Chandler Pond is a eutrophic water body at the headwaters of the culverted Faneuil Brook that drains to the Charles River. The Pond is listed as a Category 5 waterbody on the Final Massachusetts Integrated List of Waters for the Clean Water Act 2022 Reporting Cycle (2022 Integrated Report) for poor clarity and high concentrations of nutrients and algae. The City of Boston drafted a master plan in 2023-2024 that outlines steps to improve bank conditions through shoreline stabilization, removal of invasive species, and re-vegetating buffer and woodland areas. However, it does not address water quality concerns. This project proposes to establish water quality monitoring, the development of a Watershed-Based Plan, which will complement the existing master plan and identify actions and projects that can reduce stormwater pollution and improve water quality, while also engaging neighbors and local partners through active community engagement.
Franklin Regional Council of Governments Identification of Municipal Resilient Stormwater Management Projects for Downtown Greenfield - $110,540
The City of Greenfield will identify opportunities for stormwater best management practices (BMPs) on municipal properties within the eastern portion of the Green River watershed, which is impaired for bacteria, lack of a cold-water assemblage, temperature, and turbidity under Final Massachusetts Integrated List of Waters for the Clean Water Act 2022 Reporting Cycle. The 1,665-acre project area consists of approximately 35 percent impervious cover and includes Maple Brook, a tributary to the Green River that was culverted and paved over decades ago. The project will delineate stormwater drainage catchment areas and model nutrient, sediment, and bacteria nonpoint source pollution to identify priority drainage catchment areas for treatment. Sites with the greatest potential for mitigating nonpoint source pollution and for siting climate-resilient stormwater BMPs will be identified and prioritized in a BMP suitability assessment, which will employ a GIS analysis, field assessment, and scoring matrix. Conceptual designs will be created for the top seven to ten ranked sites. Two sites will be carried forward for 30 percent design-level engineering plans and the calculation of pollutant removal estimates and construction cost estimates. Both the conceptual designs and 30 percent designs for the stormwater BMPs selected as part of this project will be incorporated into a future Watershed-Based Plan for the Green River.
City of Cambridge - Salt Mitigation, Hobbs Brook Watershed - $71,600
The Cambridge Reservoir and watershed serves as the primary water storage facility for the City of Cambridge, but it is located outside of the city boundary in Lexington, Lincoln, Weston, and Waltham. The use of deicing salt on impervious surfaces, such as roads (including Interstate-95 and associated interchanges, Routes 2, 2A, 20, 117), secondary roads, commercial and industrial areas, and suburban residential neighborhoods, has led to a notable increase in nonpoint source pollution. The Cambridge Reservoir and three tributaries, including Hobbs Brook and two unnamed tributaries, are classified as Category 5 in the 2022 Integrated Report, caused by elevated levels of chloride. The City will convene a technical advisory group, which will consist of representatives from watershed communities (Lexington, Lincoln, Weston, and Waltham), the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT), larger commercial property owners, Cambridge Water Department staff, and other interested parties. The technical advisory group will support project tasks, identify and quantify sources of chloride pollution, evaluate projected impacts of climate change on future chloride concentrations, establish chloride reduction goals, and identify strategies to reduce chloride pollution in the Cambridge Reservoir watershed to achieve reduction goals. These tasks will support the development of a Watershed-Based Plan, which will also include a plan to monitor progress toward meeting chloride reduction targets, and support future 319 Grant funding eligibility.
Martha’s Vineyard Commission - Regional Scale Watershed Planning for Martha's Vineyard - $280,000
The Martha’s Vineyard Commission (MVC) proposes to address three key areas of development on Martha’s Vineyard: preparing watershed management plans, conducting water quality analyses, and increasing capacity building opportunities. Martha’s Vineyard has 27 saltwater/brackish ponds and 61 freshwater ponds that are vital to the shell-fishing and fishing industries and the Island’s overall health. Of the 15 major coastal ponds, nine are impaired for nitrogen on the 2022 Integrated Report and each of the six island towns have at least one impaired waterbody. Developing Watershed-Based Plans and water quality data enhancement are proposed under the current 604(b) Grant application. MVC also applied under the current 319 Grant Request for Proposals (RFP) to address capacity building opportunities. Under the 604(b) Grant project, MVC will develop high quality and consistent WBPs by completing or enhancing existing watershed management plans that address restoration challenges faced by all the island communities. To address water quality data gaps, the MVC would develop a Quality Assurance Project Plan and implement a monitoring program. Additionally, the project would add capacity for on-island water quality sample analysis by increasing the technical capacity at the Wampanoag Environmental Laboratory and explore the potential for an additional on-island lab.
Devens Enterprise Commission - Water Quality Assessment and Planning in the Nashua River Watershed - $117,000
In coordination with the Nashua River Watershed Association (NRWA), Comprehensive Environmental, Inc., East-West Environmental, and exPressive Print and Promotion, the Devens Enterprise Commission proposes to determine the nature and extent of water quality issues in the Nashua River and its tributaries and develop a Watershed-Based Plan for Catacoonamug Brook. The project team will collect water quality data monthly at 13 sites over a period of 12 months in the Catacoonamug Brook watershed and at 3 additional sites where significant tributaries converge with the Nashua River mainstem (i.e., one each at the mouths of the following tributaries: the Squannacook River, Nonacoicus Brook, and Mulpus Brook). The resulting data will be used to develop pollutant loading and reduction rates and identify Best Management Practices (BMPs) to mitigate the effects of pathogens and potential nutrient enrichment in the Catacoonamug Brook watershed. It will also serve as a foundation for future targeted water quality sampling in the other three tributaries.
Project partners include the town of Groton, People of Ayer Concerned about the Environment (PACE), the Oxbow National Wildlife Refuge, and the Nashua, Squannacook and Nissitissit Wild & Scenic Rivers Stewardship Council. These project partners will support a robust community outreach and education program, which will include recruiting water-quality monitors and development of nonpoint source (NPS) pollution educational materials.