Press Release  Healey-Driscoll Administration Awards $916,000 to Improve and Protect Water Quality

BOSTON — The Healey Administration today awarded $916,000 in grants to seven projects across Massachusetts to conduct nonpoint source assessment and water quality management planning work to address water quality impairments in local water bodies.

"This investment provides our communities with the resources they need to collect data, develop water monitoring plans, and improve water quality," said MassDEP Commissioner Bonnie Heiple. "It's important that we implement simple, but effective strategies to eliminate the pollutants at the source, restore impaired waters and provide equitable access to clean and safe water." 

Since 1991, MassDEP has used 604(b) Water Quality Management Planning Grant awards to fund 174 projects for more than $8 million to address nonpoint source pollution problems.

The term, nonpoint source pollution, refers to contaminants that are carried to a waterway as a result of precipitation and stormwater runoff from the land or infiltration into the soil. Common types of nonpoint source pollution include phosphorus and nitrogen from lawn and garden fertilizers, bacteria from pet waste and waterfowl, oil and grease from parking lots and roadways and sediment from construction activities and soil erosion.

The seven grants awarded are:

Central Massachusetts Regional Planning Commission - $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 - $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 - $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 - $98,540: 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 the 2022 Integrated Report. 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 - $24,600: 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 - $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 shellfishing 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 - $24,600: 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 Unkety Brook. The project team will collect water quality data monthly at 14 sites over a period of 16 months. Resulting data will be used to develop pollutant loading and reduction rates. The Unkety Brook-Nashua River Watershed is a priority waterbody under the RFP as part of the National Water Quality Initiative (NWQI), which is a partnership between MassDEP, EPA, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture that provides an avenue to enhance voluntary, on-farm conservation investments and focuses water quality monitoring and assessment resources where they can deliver the greatest benefits for clean water. MassDEP conducted water quality monitoring within the watershed during the 2023 and 2024 sampling seasons. Project partners will develop a Watershed-Based Plan and incorporate available data to create a comprehensive plan. Other 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 development of educational materials, utilizing the Photo-Voice platform, and the creation of 30-second video clips describing water quality issues. The NRWA’s Education Team will engage with the Ayer-Shirley High School.

For more information on the Section 604(b) Grant, please visit our webpage.

Statements of Support:

Senator Julian Cyr (D-Truro): "Martha's Vineyard faces serious water quality challenges - each of the Island's six towns has at least one compromised pond or estuary. This grant will allow the Martha's Vineyard Commission to take a major step forward in restoring these ecosystems. Investments like this are critical to protecting the Island's environment, economy, and public health. I'm grateful to the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection and the Environmental Protection Agency for making this work possible."

Senator Jo Comerford (D-Northampton): "I'm thrilled to see the Franklin Regional Council of Governments and the City of Greenfield receive this critical funding to help restore the health of the Green River watershed. Investments like these — powered by the Clean Water Act — support the innovative, community-led work necessary to tackle nonpoint source pollution and build long-term climate resilience. I am grateful to the Franklin Regional Council of Governments and the Department of Environmental Protection for this work."

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