How Cle an is Your Wate r Citizen Water Monitoring Network Results - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

How Cle an is Your Wate r Citizen Water Monitoring Network Results 2018 Andres Ripley and Chris Hirsch

Wate r she d Ove r vie w Ne po nse t F ig ure s • – 30 mile s lo ng – 120 sq ua re mile s – 14 to wns

Citize n Wate r Monitor ing Ne twor k (CWMN) • Since 1995 • 50+ Volunteers • 41 sites – 10 mainstem – 31 tributaries • May - October

Data Colle c te d Volunteers/ NepRWA Staff • – Physical attributes – Weather conditions – pH – Dissolved oxygen MWRA • – E.coli – Total Phosphorous – Total Nitrogen – Ammonia – Chlorophyll a.

T he F oc us of T onight E.coli pH Dissolved Phosphorus Oxygen

pH Values between 6.5 and 8.3 are considered healthy for the Neponset

pH Re sults This Year 2018 Average Year 2008-2018 0 1 Poor <49% 1 2 5 4 Moderate (50-74%) Good 75-94% Outstanding >95% pH was slightly better than average in 2018

T op 5 Be st and Wor st pH! Ganawatte Farm Pond, Walpole.

Dissolve d Oxyge n The “air” fish breathe under water

Dissolve d Oxyge n Average Year 2008-2018 This Year 2018 Poor < 50% 6 6 Moderate 50-74% 4 5 Good 75-94% 4 13 Outstanding >95% 2018 was above average for dissolved oxygen

Be st and Wor st Dissolve d Oxyge n Traphole Brook, Norwood.

Phosphor us You’r e fe r tilizing mor e than just your lawn

Phosphor us This Year 2018 Average Year 2008-2018 Poor < 25 % 7 12 Moderate 25 - 49 % 11 Good 50 - 74 % 6 18 12 Outstanding > 75 % 2018 had fewer “great” sites , and more “really bad” sites compared to average

5 Best and Worst Phosphorus Crack Rock Pond, Foxborough.

E .c oli

E .c oli This year 2018 Average Year 2008-2018 Poor <50% 3 10 16 Moderate 50-74% 9 Good 75-90 20 17 Outstanding >90 2018 had fewer “great” sites, and more “really bad” sites compared to average

5 Be st and Wor st E .c oli Turner’s Pond, Walpole.

Cr unc hing the Numbe r s Is the Neponset improving or declining?

Dissolve d Oxyge n Average Year 2008-2018 This Year 2018 6 6 Poor < 50% 4 5 Moderate 50-74% Good 75-94% 4 Outstanding >95% 13 2018 was above average for dissolved oxygen

L O NG T ERM DO T REND ’07- ’18 Poor Moderate Good Outstanding 30 25 NUMBER OF SITES 20 15 10 5 0 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 YEAR

Do Your par t to Inc r e ase DO Use less water in the summer Let stream vegetation grow Reduce or eliminate fertilizer use

Phosphor us This Year 2018 Average Year 2008-2018 Poor < 25 % 7 12 Moderate 25 - 49 % Good 50 - 74 % 11 6 Outstanding > 75 % 18 12 2018 had fewer “great” sites , and more “really bad” sites compared to average

L O NG T ERM PHO SPHO RUS T RENDS '07- '18 Poor Moderate Good Outstanding 30 25 NUMBER OF SITES 20 15 10 5 0 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 YEAR

Do Your Par t to Re duc e Phos. Report construction runoff to your Test your soil before using town DPW fertilizers Never dump yard waste in streams of wetlands

E .c oli This year 2018 Average Year 2008-2018 2 3 5 Poor <50% 10 16 Moderate 50-74% 9 Good 75-90 20 17 Outstanding >90 2018 had fewer “great” sites, and more “really bad” sites compared to average

L O NG T ERM E.C O L I T RENDS '07- '18 Outstanding Good Moderate Poor 25 20 NUMBER OF SITES 15 10 5 0 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 YEAR

Do Your Par t to Re duc e E .c oli Let the grass grow long Service your septic around your ponds system regularly Pick up after your pets and dispose of it in a trash can

Stor mwate r

Dry VS We t We a the r 2018 E. Coli (cfu) Total Phosphorus (mg/l) 4000 0.08000 3000 0.06000 2000 0.04000 0.02000 1000 0.00000 0 Wet Dry Wet Dry

Hillar y Waite  Town of Milton Environmental Coordinator  Neponset Stormwater Partnership Outreach Committee Member  Stormwater Committee Member Town of Ashland  Former EPA  First team All Neponset Environmental All-Star

POLLUTION PREVENTION (WHAT DOES THE STORMWATER FEE PAY FOR ANYWAY?) Hillary Waite Milton DPW Environmental Coordinator

What is stormwater?

Create Investigate Insufficient infiltration Diffuse potential IDs opportunity opportunities sources of and hotspots for water to pollution infiltrate Polluted water goes Outreach and Good straight to Reduce rivers and education housekeeping pollution streams

Investigating Illicit Discharges

Structural BMPs create infiltration opportunities

Wendell Park Tree Filter Boxes

Wendell Park Tree Filter Boxes $197,000

Police Station Infiltration Cells $108,000 (estimated)

What else is in the works? $79,170 $227,922 $143,283

How do we pay for it? With an Enterprise fund Tier Fee Impervious Area (Square feet) Tier 1 $32 0 – 2,075 Tier 2 $44 2,076 – 2,675 $1.88 per 100 square Tier 3 $61 2,676 – 4,225 feet Tier 4.1 $110 4,226 – 8,364 Tier 4.2 $205 8,365 – 15,895 Tier 4.3 $468 15,896+

Use plans to… • Find areas of high • Strategize construction • Apply for grants pollution • Design potential retrofits • Construct BMPs • Examine potential • Look for available funding for stormwater Use information Repeat! improvements to… • Eliminate illicit discharges

Thank you!

Join the CWMN T e am! • Two sites that need coverage – NER080 – Norwood – MOB001 – Dedham • Fill in samplers – Most of the sites are almost always covered, but it’s great to have fill ins when the regular volunteers can’t make it.