You are here:
BUZZARDS BAY EMBAYMENTS, BAYWATCHERS II: NUTRIENT RELATED WATER QUALITY 1992-1998
Citation:
Rasmussen, M. BUZZARDS BAY EMBAYMENTS, BAYWATCHERS II: NUTRIENT RELATED WATER QUALITY 1992-1998. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C.
Description:
Since 1992, the Buzzards Bay Citizens' Water Quality Monitoring Program, known as "Baywatchers", has been monitoring and evaluating bay water quality and particularly the impacts of nitrogen loading. More than 300 dedicated citizen volunteers have contributed to the effort, sampling 180 different monitoring stations. Focused on nutrient loading and eutrophication, the degradation of water quality and loss of habitats from excessive amounts of nutrients entering the Bay's waters, the Baywatchers program is the primary source of long-term data assessing the health of the bay's embayments from Westport Rivers to Quissett Harbor on Cape Cod. As the largest citizens monitoring program in the state, Baywatchers has shown that monitoring is essential for environmental management to be based on informed, science-based decisions for the restoration and protection of Buzzards Bay. The results of our now seven-year-old water quality monitoring effort are documented in this Report. While much of the Bay remains healthy, our data reveals that over half of all Buzzards Bay harbors and coves are showing signs of eutrophication, or nitrogen-related water quality degradation. All of the twelve major embayments on the western shore are exhibiting some signs of eutrophication - eight of these actually drop to levels where shellfish, finfish, and other aquatic life are damaged. Poor water clarity, bad odors, eelgrass loss, suffocating algae growth, stressed marine organisms and even fish kills are all symptoms of this decline. Eel Pond in Mattapoisett - once considered one of the best oyster spots in all of Buzzards Bay, the Slocums and Little Rivers, the East Branch of the Westport, Padanaram & New Bedford Harbors, and the Weweantic and Agawam Rivers are the embayments that we are losing to nitrogen pollution. Fortunately, all of these areas are restorable. While eutrophication impacts the entire ecology of an affected area, it is not irreversible. The return of eelgrass beds to Clarks Cove in New Bedford and Dartmouth is a prime example of the Bay's ability to rebound once there is a reduction in nitrogen loading to acceptable levels. Nevertheless, there are few easy fixes. As a long-term ecological monitoring effort, our Citizens Monitoring Program documents trends and focuses attention to where problems exist. We have endeavored also to provide Management Recommendations for each embayment to set a course for the restoration of areas already suffering from nutrient overloading and the preservation of areas not yet harmed by human activities. There is much work to be done, but we believe that the body of data and information assembled here in this Report lays the foundation for better understanding and management of the Nitrogen Problem - the most serious and challenging threat to the health of our Bay.