HERE

Nutrient Pollution Rises as Bacteria Levels Decrease



  
April 07 - Despite the 
unusually high amount runoff due to rainfall in Massachusetts 
during the spring of 2006, the Lower Charles River has 
attained its highest-ever grade from the U.S. EPA, a B+. The 
grade reflects the number of days the river meets boating and 
swimming standards during the previous calendar year and is 
based on measurements of bacteria levels in the water. 
But even as bacteria levels are declining, another potentially 
serious problem has gotten worse - elevated levels of 
nutrients are entering the Charles River in stormwater runoff.
 "We've made tremendous progress eliminating sewage from the 
river," said Bob Zimmerman, executive director of the Charles 
River Watershed Association. "That's just not good enough, 
however." The Longfellow Bridge spans the Charles River, connecting 
Boston and Cambridge. 
Last summer, toxic algae bloomed with great frequency and 
intenvironment newsity. The proliferation of algae is caused in part by 
nutrients such as phosphorus entering the river and providing 
food for them. 
"We have to fix the toxic algae blooms, and begin to figure 
out how to fix the sediments," said Zimmerman. He says the 
partnership between nongovernmental organizations, state and 
federal agencies will find ways to keep excess nutrients from 
fouling the river. 
The EPA says the B+ grade shows that efforts over the past 
decade by government and local groups to restore the Charles 
to ecological health by reducing bacteria in the river are on 
track. 
A generation ago the Charles was abandoned to polluted runoff, 
and in 1995 it received a water quality grade of D from the 
EPA. The turnaround is dramatic. 
"The hard work that has gone into cleaning the Charles River 
is no magic trick," said Robert Varney, regional administrator 
for EPA's New England office. "The improved water quality is 
the direct result of work and investment by state, federal and 
municipal governments, as well as environmental groups and a 
host of individuals committed to providing new life to this 
urban river." 
For 2006, the Charles met boating standards 90 percent of the 
time, and swimming standards 62 percent of the time according 
to data collected by the Charles River Watershed Association 
between Watertown Dam and Boston Harbor. 
Under a settlement between the EPA and the Massachusetts Water 
Resources Authority last year, sewage discharges to the river 
declined in 2006, and are expected to continue declining for 
the next eight years. 
By the time this effort is completed in 2013, the 
Massachusetts Water Resources Authority will have reduced 
flows from sewer relief pipes by 99.5 percent, an effort 
Varney calls "impressive." 
The section of the Charles River between the Watertown Dam and 
the New Charles River Dam at the Museum of Science is called 
the Lower Charles River. The Lower Charles is 8.6 miles long 
and is currently impaired by excess nutrients, mainly 
phosphorus. 
Toxic blue-green algae infests a section of the Lower Charles 
River near the Museum of Science. 
"This year marks a real turning point for the Massachusetts 
Water Resources Authority's CSO [combined sewage overflow] 
program," said Massachusetts Water Resources Authority 
Executive Director Fred Laskey. "We've completed a number of 
important projects around the Harbor in the last few months. 
The municipalities of the lower Charles continued to chip away 
at sewage flows from stormwater pipes, eliminating 7,500 
gallons per day during 2006. 
This is in addition to the more than one million gallons of 
sewage per day eliminated from storm drain systems since the 
EPA began the Charles cleanup effort in 1997. 
Completion of the Stony Brook Sewer Separation project has 
reduced CSO discharges by an additional 44 million gallons a 
year. 
Through this $45 million project, managed by the Boston Water 
and Sewer Commission, nearly 14 miles of new storm drain was 
installed to reduce sewer overflows to the Charles and remove 
stormwater from the sewer system, Laskey explained. 
All these efforts have resulted in a more swimmable Charles 
River and Boston swimmers are beginning to return to the river 
with a one mile race scheduled for July 21. Swimmers take a dip
 in the Charles River, now clean enough to 
enjoy after years of bacterial pollution. 
"Our upcoming Charles River one mile swimming race celebrates 
not only the tremendous work done thus far but the promise of 
the return of public river swimming," said Frans Lawaetz, 
president of the newly formed Charles River Swimming Club. 
"Swimming in the Charles River is an important step to making 
the Charles River Parklands more active and accessible to the 
greater Boston community. The water is getting cleaner, and it 
is time that the public was able to benefit from it. This 
initiative will make the Charles River the first swimmable 
urban river in the United States," said Renata von Tscharner, 
president of the Charles River Conservancy, which is dedicated 
to restoring the Charles River. 
While EPA's ongoing work directed at bacterial sources will 
also help reduce nutrients and algae blooms, the agency has 
directed fresh energy toward controlling the amount and 
quality of stormwater, which carries nutrients into the river.
 The EPA has issued stormwater permits to municipalities that 
require them to operate and maintain their storm drain 
systems, regulate construction sites, educate citizenvironment news about 
stormwater, and conduct other activities to minimize 
stormwater's harmful effects. 
To reduce nutrients and other pollutants, the agency will be 
reissuing and tightening these permits next year. In addition, 
the EPA will be examining other major sources of nutrients to 
the Charles and requiring them to take the necessary steps to 
reduce nutrient loading of the waterway. 
Recently, the EPA and the state of Massachusetts proposed a 
total maximum daily load - a cleanup plan resulting from an 
assessment examining the impact of nutrients on the Lower 
Charles. This assessment determines what reduction in 
nutrients will be necessary to meet water quality standards on 
the River. 
Sailboats on Boston's Charles River 
The results of the assessment indicate that nutrient loads 
from stormwater must be reduced by 50 or 60 percent to meet 
water quality standards. 
"This won't be an easy problem to solve," said EPA regional 
administrator Varney, "but we will be looking to all sources 
of elevated nutrients in storm water runoff to see that the 
necessary reductions will occur." 
Some blue-green algal species known to be toxic have been 
consistently observed in the Lower Charles River during all 
summers when algal sampling has been conducted. 
During the summer of 2006, a severe toxic blue-green algal 
bloom occurred in the Lower Charles, causing state agencies to 
post warnings for the public and their pets to avoid contact 
with that section of the river. 
The major source categories of phosphorus to the Lower Charles 
River include stormwater from both overland runoff and piped 
drainage systems, illicit sanitary sewage discharges, combined 
sewer overflows, and discharges into the upper watershed above 
the Watertown Dam from similar sources, as well as discharges 
from several wastewater treatment plants. 
Pollutants, such as phosphorus, that have accumulated on 
watershed surfaces are readily transported to the Lower 
Charles River by way of the stormwater drainage systems or 
overland flow during rain events. 
Given the level of urbanization and the extent of impervious 
land cover, such as streets and parking lots, the Lower 
Charles River's watershed has lost much of its natural 
capacity to absorb rainfall and remove pollutants by filtering 
the runoff. 
"The Charles River Watershed is a significant and important 
recreational resource to many residents and businesses in the 
Boston area," said MassDEP Acting Commissioner Arleen 
O'Donnell. "This cleanup plan charts a path for enhancing 
recreational opportunities and restoring ecological health to 
the river so all may continue to enjoy it." 

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