Fish Passages on the Blackstone
Under the watchful eyes of Frank Geary and the Blackstone River Watershed Council/Friends of the Blackstone (BRWC/FOB), the momentum is building for a shovel in the ground for fish passages before the next leaves fall. The Natural Resource Conservation Service has funded much of the design and permitting for the planning of fish passages around the first four dams on the Blackstone River. This project will open up vital breeding habitat for anadromous fish, such as shad and herring, as far upstream as the Lonsdale Marsh. Permitting is expected to be complete by summer of 2008. The State of RI is committed to purchasing and removing the Elizabeth Webbing Dam. Federal Agencies have funds for construction, but they need private, local or state funding as a non-federal match. The BRWC/FOB is committed to leading the fundraising effort and has started by raising $5,000 to produce a professional video describing this exciting project.
Worcester Stormwater Permit
As a large city, Worcester has had a Phase I Stormwater Permit since 1993. Under their first round of a five year permit, the City made some good progress: mapping, monitoring and slowly improving its antique drainage system. But the aging collection system, along with staff cuts and deferred maintenance, has slowed progress. For its second round permit, the City sought to avoid some monitoring and proposed to continue incremental improvements by tracking illicit connections. When the EPA recently released to the City a "courtesy" draft permit which continued the strict testing protocols, pushed for a more aggressive illicit discharge investigation and included general language referencing Total Maximum Daily Loads, the City went into an uproar.
Fired up by a $125,000 fine two years ago for illicit discharges, and geared up to appeal the wastewater permit based on what the City considers "questionable" science, Worcester hired their consulting engineer, CDM, to perform an analysis of what the new stormwater permit might cost. Headlines screamed costs of $1.2 BILLION to meet new stormwater requirements! A white paper published by a nebulous "Clean Water Coalition" with no names listed on the paper, suggests reclassifying water standards and quadrupling the length of time between permit renewal. City councilors are advocating civil disobedience.
After finally reviewing a paper copy of the CDM report, BRC is glad to report that this is all just a "tempest in a teapot". No, Chicken Little, the sky is not falling. As the EPA reported in a press release on January 23, 2008, "A single incorrect assumption accounts for nearly all the overestimate. CDM included $1.16 Billion – 96.7% of the total cost – for disinfection of all stormwater discharges and "in-lake" treatment to reduce phosphorous. This was apparently based on speculation that EPA might require these steps in some future permit. In fact, these requirements were not in the draft of the permit shared with the City, and will not be part of the new permit." At least the City and the EPA are now talking to each other. Hopefully, the rhetoric has been vented and reason can return to the ongoing discourse.
Innovative Nutrient Removal Techniques for Wastewater
As a follow-up to the lengthy debates over the draft permit issued last spring to the Upper Blackstone Water Pollution Abatement District which included more stringent nutrient limits, the BRC worked with the Upper Blackstone and CDM to sponsor a roundtable discussion of recognized experts in the field of sewer treatment. Moderated by Dr. Cliff Randall of Virginia Tech, three sessions addressed techniques to remove phosphorous, nitrogen and the necessity to treat for both phosphates and nitrates.
Stamford, CT is able to meet very stringent nitrate limits and five plants around Washington, DC meet very stringent phosphate limits. Syracuse, NY is meeting very stringent limits for both phosphates and nitrates, since the plant discharges into a eutrophic lake. A eutrophic lake in one that is characterized by an abundant accumulation of nutrients that support a dense growth of algae and other organisms, the decay of which depletes the shallow waters of oxygen in summer.
The fact that Worcester’s sewer treatment plant receives high flows caused by a combined sewer and stormwater system makes biological treatment more problematic and more expensive. A plant designed to treat 56 mgd (millions of gallons per day) of warm sewage has a hard time handling 110 mgd of cold meltwater in the spring storms.
The bottom line concluded from the technical sessions is that stringent nutrient limits can be met. It won’t be cheap, but new treatment techniques can be incorporated into current upgrades to effectively remove nutrients from the wastewater. (To view the Power Point versions of the presentations, visit our website, zaptheblackstone.org.
In Business for the Blackstone
The BRC’s innovative outreach program to encourage small businesses to adopt water-friendly good housekeeping practices has three new local champions. Eugenia Marks of the Audubon Society of RI will be working with a student intern from Rhode Island College and volunteers from the University of Rhode Island's Master Gardener Program to visit local businesses in Burrillville, Glocester and North Smithfield, RI. Judy Hadley and Frank Matta of the BRWC/FOB will be reaching out to RI communities along the mainstem. In Massachusetts, Dona Neely and Michelle Walsh of the Blackstone River Watershed Association will institute an outreach program to businesses as part of their Stream Team efforts along the Mumford, West and Mill Rivers.
If you know of any likely business who would be sympathetic to the cause, please contact Peter Coffin at 508.753.6086 or peter.coffin@zaptheblackstone.org .
You Are Invited!
The Blackstone River
Watershed-wide Volunteer Water Quality Monitoring Program
Summit and Appreciation Breakfast
- Hosted by:
- The Blackstone River Coalition,
Blackstone Headwaters Coalition,
Blackstone River Watershed Association,
& Blackstone River Watershed Council
- When:
- Saturday, February 9, 2008
- 9:30 to 11:30 am
- Where:
- Blackstone Public Library, 86 Main Street, Blackstone, MA
- Why:
-
- View the results of the Volunteer Water Quality Monitoring Program for 2007, the BRC 2007 Water Quality Report Card and a 4-year summary of results.
- Meet other volunteers from all parts of the watershed
- Hear about the progress of the Campaign for a Fishable/Swimmable Blackstone by 2015
- Learn how you can help residents take action to protect water quality in the Blackstone River Watershed and receive our new Homeowner’s Guide
- Learn about nutrients in our waterways during an overview presented by Cindy Delpapa from Mass Riverways
- Participate in open discussion regarding your sites and the program in general
The summit is open to all. Please invite anyone you think may be interested in attending.
In order for us to plan for refreshments and handouts please RSVP to Tammy Gilpatrick, 508-278-2080 or BRCoalition@yahoo.com by February 4, 2008.
Hot off the Press!
Blackstone River Coalition’s three new guides to help tackle stormwater:
Click on the links above to download the guides or for hard copies contact BRC Coordinator Peter Coffin at peter.coffin@zaptheblackstone.org
The Blackstone River Coalition would like to thank all the various groups and individuals who have come together to work on a wide variety of projects, all supporting the Campaign for a Fishable/Swimmable Blackstone River. The highlights of major projects are discussed below, but all of us have opportunities in our daily lives to serve as advocates for a Cleaner Blackstone River and become good stewards of a remarkable resource.
