Sustainable Water Management
Massachusetts is a relatively water-rich state, receiving approximately 44 inches of rain a year. Despite our ample rainfall, Massachusetts faces some very serious water resource challenges. We are dewatering our watersheds, draining our rivers, treating large volumes of clean rainwater at our sewage treatment plants, wasting millions of gallons of water, and threatening the health of aquatic ecosystems and species.
There are a number of factors that contribute to our water quantity problems. Constructed water systems whisk water off our roads into storm drains, bypassing nature’s water recycling system. In communities that are sewered, wastewater also gets transported to a treatment plant that often is miles away. Many communities and homes do not have conservation measures in place so water is wasted. During the summer months, outdoor water use increases residential consumption from 10% to 50% due to lawn and garden watering. Infrastructure in many communities is old and leaky. In some places, groundwater seeps into sewer pipes that connect to sewage treatment plants. This means that groundwater is being unnecessarily treated, wasting both water and the money that is spent on treating already clean water. It is estimated that almost half of the water that enters the MWRA’s Deer Island Treatment Plant comes from this infiltration of groundwater into leaky pipes.
The Sustainable Water Resources Act
ELM continues to pursue legislation that would direct the state to develop science-based streamflow standards. As we approach the end of the formal legislative session this summer, committees must take action on bills before them by a certain date (this year it was March 17th). The Sustainable Water Resources Act (H. 834) received an extension which means that the committee will continue to consider and act on the bill. In the meantime, the state has appointed two committees to develop recommendations and policies for water resources management going forward.
ELM has a seat on the Sustainable Water Management Advisory Committee along with a broad range of stakeholders including water suppliers, environmental engineers, planners, users (e.g.,cranberry growers) and municipal representatives. There is a separate Technical Committee that is working on analyzing new data and developing a credible scientific basis for decision making by the Advisory Committee.
This effort is unique in that three agencies – the Department of Environmental Protection, the Department of Conservation and Recreation, and the Department of Fish and Game – are all participating in the process since they each have a set of relevant responsibilities and expertise.
The mission of the Advisory Committee is to make recommendations that will ensure that the Commonwealth’s water resources are restored, protected and sustainably managed for human use and ecological integrity. What is clear already is that we have much better and more comprehensive science on which to base decisions going forward. This includes a target fish study which tells the distressing story that many of our rivers no longer support fish typically found in rivers, but rather fish that typically are found in ponds. This speaks to lack of stream flow, temperature variations, and other impacts to aquatic habitat.
The U.S. Geological Survey and Mass DEP have also developed a “Sustainable Yield Estimator” that will help determine baseline streamflow conditions needed to sustain aquatic habitat. The SYE is an interactive, point-and-click tool that incorporates a wide array of data that can be used to model a variety of different water scenarios. Information about the state’s Sustainable Water Management Initiative including meeting schedules, minutes and other information can be found online at http://www.mass.gov/envir. Click on “Preserving Water Resources” under Air, Water, & Climate Change.
Legislation Link: An Act Relative to Sustainable Water Resources (HB 834)
Related Links
Sustainable Water Resources — Keeping Water Local
Details ways that Mass DEP (Department of Environmental Protection) is working toward ‘Keeping Water Local’ in accordance with the Massachusetts Water Policy.