slides: Central MA’s Most Polluted Ponds and Lakes

Email to a friend Permalink

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Kate Nagle, GoLocalWorcester News Contributor

A report released by the state this past March shows that of the more than 3,000 lakes and ponds in the Commonwealth, nearly 40 in central Massachusetts are Category 5, or "impaired or threatened for one or more uses and require a TMDL (total maximum daily load)" to allocate for an acceptable pollutant level.

"Forty years after the Clean Water Act was enacted, we still have a ways to go," said Heidi Ricci, Senior Policy Analyst with Mass Audubon. "The Department of Environmental Protection has suffered major budget cuts which has impacted their ability to accurately monitor and assess all of the state's waters. I think they're doing a valiant effort given the circumstances."

The "Massachusetts Year 2012 Integrated List of Waters" was submitted to the EPA as required by law under section 303(d) of the Clean Water Act, as states, territories, and authorized tribes are required to develop lists of impaired waters. These are waters that are too polluted or otherwise degraded to meet the water quality standards set by states.

The law requires that these jurisdictions establish priority rankings for waters on the lists and develop TMDLs for these waters. A Total Maximum Daily Load, or TMDL, is a calculation of the maximum amount of a pollutant that a waterbody can receive and still safely meet water quality standards.

Ricci, along with Rick Dunn in the Department of Environmental Protection spoke with GoLocal about clean water issues -- and what is being done to address them.

Department of Environmental Protection Tackles Difficult Task

"[Clean water] is a big issue with a lot of different elements," said Dunn, who is with the DEP. "It should be noted that "pollutant" and "pollution" are two separate things. Pollutants are things such as nutrients, heavy metals that can wreck havoc. "Pollution" refers to thing such as dams, physical blockages. Category 5 deals with pollutants, while pollution would fall under the 4C designation."

"We're trying to make all of our waterbodies in the state fishable and swimmable," said Dunn. "In the environmental world, there are lots of moving targets however."

Dunn noted that overall, water quality has gotten better across the board in the state over the years.

"Today's issues are with elements that are microscopic, whether it be too much phosphorous in freshwater, or nitrogen in salt water," said Dunn.

Dunn noted that a majority of the work done to address clean water issues is accomplished at the local level with 319 grants through the EPA. "We give priority to local watershed groups and associations who are really driving the action, and we've seen results," said Dunn.

Audubon Program Aims to Help Communities with Clean Water

Mass Audubon's Ricci talked with GoLocal about the efforts the environmental group is undertaking to tackle clean water issues.

"We have a program called "Shaping the Future of Your Community" that we use to help communities to tackle land-use decisions at the local level," said Ricci. "We provide assistance and expertise to assist with the goal of low-impact development on the environment."

"Filtering water run-off through plants and natural vegetation, rather than pavement, is one key way to protect our water resources," said Ricci. "Things such as mandatory forested landscapes...there are ways to achieve the economic development we need, while providing for filtered areas to protect water resources -- and we can help local communities in this process." 

Related Articles

• MA Delegation Earns Top Scores For Environmental Voting Record
• NEW: Bagged Salad Recalled for Potential Listeria Contamination
• Worcester County Gets an “F” for Air Pollution
• MPHA Presents Award to Worcester Environmentalist
• NY Times Corp Leaves Taxpayer on the Hook for Contamination in Worcester
• NEW: Oakmont Students Work for Environmental Change in Lexus Eco Challenege
• Officials Call for NY Times to Clean Up T&G Contamination
• NEW: RI Environmental Group Opposes Off Shore Drilling
• T&G Building Contamination Has Unions Concerned
• NEW: State Seeking Applications for Excellence in Environmental Education
• Who should pay for the T&G contamination clean up cost?
• NEW: Warren Slams Brown on Environmental Stance
• Amorello: Why the Big Dig Hasn’t Helped Air Pollution-Yet
• Former Miss RI Allison Rogers Wins National Environmental Fellowship
• Worcester’s Victor Pacheco Creates Environmentally Conscious Art
• Grace Ross: Pollution Could Kill Fall Foliage
• INVESTIGATION: MA’s Top Environmental Penalties
• Murray Says T&G May Have to Pay Up for Building Contamination
• Hundreds Meet to Discuss Pollution and Poverty

Enjoy this post? Share it with others.

Email to a friend Permalink