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Boston, Massachusetts

Boston, Massachusetts. Watersheds. Boston Harbor Watershed.

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Boston, Massachusetts

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  1. Boston, Massachusetts Watersheds

  2. Boston Harbor Watershed • The Boston Harbor Watershed, encompassing approximately 293 square miles of land area, including all or part of 45 municipalities, as well as most of downtown Boston, is located in and around historic Boston Harbor. The watershed includes the Mystic River Watershed to the north and the Neponset, Fore, Back, and Weir River Watersheds to the south. Although the Boston Harbor Watershed is comparatively small in area, it is unique because it contains over one-sixth of the state's population, approximately 1,070,578 people (according to 1990 US Census data). This is more than any other watershed in Massachusetts. The Boston Harbor Watershed is approximately 34% urban, 27% forestland, and 3% wetland (including salt marsh habitat). • As a result of long-term community involvement, the harbor has seen dramatic improvements in water quality over the last few years. Many species that had not been seen in the harbor for years are on the rebound, including harbor porpoises, seals, river herring, and other marine species. The Boston Harbor Islands were designated as a National Recreation Area on November 12, 1996.

  3. Watershed Priorities • Expand watershed association, citizen monitoring programs, and the remediation/enforcement of water quality problems • Continue stream flow assessment and water supply planning in the Neponset and Weir River Watersheds and work to resolve flood control issues in the Mystic River Watershed • Evaluate current land use and the possibility of future development within the watershed • Restore sensitive habitat areas by managing dams to allow for fish passage, restoring wetlands, improving the health of the harbor, and controlling invasive species of aquatic plants • Reduce/eliminate sewer overflows and extreme fecal coliform and nutrient levels

  4. Watershed Success • In its first year, the Corporate Wetlands Partnership received corporate donations of approximately one million dollars for wetlands restoration projects throughout Massachusetts, including sites in the Neponset Estuary, Sagamore Marsh, and the Fowl Meadow Area of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC).

  5. Watershed Success Aftermath • The success of the watershed is based on an collaborative effort to provide these overflow areas. • Years later, they are once again dealing with these areas and attempting to restore them and make them appealing to the public.

  6. Neponset Estuary Riverwalk Concept • The main concept of the Riverwalk Plan is to connect segments of existing paths to form a continuous walk along the Neponset Estuary and beyond. It includes the areas listed below and shown in Figure 4: • Cove Creek parcel (formerly Dickenson); owned by the City of Quincy • SquantumPoint Park; managed by MDC • Walkway along the shore by Boston Scientific Corporation between Squantum Point Park and Commander Shea Boulevard • Path along Billings Creek; managed by MDC • Partial path at Adams Inn on the waterside of the building • Path between the boundaries of Sonsinger Broadcasting Company parcel (antenna parcel) and Presidents’ Golf Course; unpaved, informal path (former railroad bed) • State Street Bank parcel on Granite Avenue, Milton

  7. Neponset Estuary Riverwalk Concept • Undertaking this comprehensive plan presents opportunities and challenges to be understood and acted upon in the near future: • Opportunities • Protect natural areas • Connect public land • Update zoning • Restore riverfront and wetlands • Increase and enhance recreation opportunities • Create a visionary plan for Neponset waterfront • Upgrade pavement to a pervious surface • Challenges • Disconnected paths and rights of way • Environmental regulations • Incompatible zoning • Physical barriers • Visual barriers discouraging access • Route to be finalized

  8. Sagamore Marsh • Tidal flushing of the Sagamore Marsh was restricted in the mid-1930s when the Cape Cod Canal was widened and deepened, thus creating a fresh and brackish water system. The Scusset River previously provided tidal flushing to Sagamore Marsh as it flowed into Cape Cod Bay, north of the present canal"s jetty. In the years since, a combination of factors have conspired to reduce needed flushing, including the disposal of dredged material in the marsh, the natural accretion of material to the north of the jetty, and a small 48-inch diameter culvert that was inadequate to provide sufficient flow to maintain the salt marsh. Most of Sagamore Marsh has changed from an area that consisted of predominantly salt marsh and ecologically valuable estuarine habitat to an area that is dominated by relatively low-value, common reed (Phragmites). Absent intervention, Sagamore Marsh would continue to have a limited ecological value, present a fire hazard, and be a breeding ground for mosquitoes.

  9. SagamoreMarsh Outlook • In April 2000, work began at Sagamore Marsh on Cape Cod, restoring 50 acres of tidal marsh estuarine habitat. Of the $1.6 million estimated cost, the Massachusetts Executive Office of Environmental Affairs and the CWRP put up $500,000, with the federal government contributing the remainder. In addition, a significant gift from The Gillette Company will support an innovative post-construction monitoring and evaluation program at the Sagamore Marsh. Thus, the CWRP uncovered synergies among common efforts, and leveraged them to great effect. This project represents the many benefits a public-private partnership has to offer.

  10. Resources • http://www.mass.gov/?pageID=eoeeaterminal&L=4&L0=Home&L1=Air%2C+Water+%26+Climate+Change&L2=Preserving+Water+Resources&L3=Massachusetts+Watersheds&sid=Eoeea&b=terminalcontent&f=eea_water_bostonharbor&csid=Eoeea • http://www.mass.gov/Eoeea/docs/eea/water/wap_boston_harbor_2004.pdf • http://www.mass.gov/Eoeea/docs/eea/water/neponset_budgets_assess.pdf • http://www.watershedconcepts.com/about/CaseStudies.lasso • http://www.neponset.org/RiverwalkReport.pdf • http://www.coastalamerica.gov/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1150%3Asagamorehtml&catid=14%3Acorporate-wetlands-restoration-partnership&Itemid=172

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