Cleaner Water for Shellfishing - Prospects Brighten for Opening South River Shellfish Beds

The ability to harvest shellfish locally is a clear measure of the health of our rivers and their water quality. It also happens to be a great New England family tradition. Getting out your waders and clam rake, searching for clam holes, getting all mucky and then enjoying the fruits of your labors is one of the greatest pleasures of living on the coast and a great way to introduce your kids to the importance of keeping our water clean.

Both the North and South Rivers have extensive shellfish beds near the mouth of the rivers but due to degraded water quality they were closed to recreational harvest in 1988. In 1995 the North River shellfish beds were re-opened after a campaign led by the NSRWA to clean up water quality. That campaign led to water quality improvements which allowed for limited opening of the shellfish beds in the winter months, when bacteria are not as likely to reproduce as quickly. Since then water quality in the North River has improved such that we now have the shellfish beds open for recreational harvest from December 1 – June 30 as long as water quality results continue to come back clean.

Ultimately, our goal is have the shellfish beds open year-round (only the truly hard core want to shellfish in the winter!). Over the last decade and a half the NSRWA with the towns of Marshfield and Scituate have worked on improving water quality through increased stormwater treatment, upgrading septic systems to comply with Title V and most importantly in Marshfield…extending the sewer system to properties along the South River from Old Colony Lane to the intersection of Rtes 139 and 3A. The passage of the extension the sewer in Marshfield in 2000 and its subsequent completion in December 2004 has led to significant decreases in bacterial counts in the waters of the South River. For the past several years the Division of Marine Fisheries has been taking samples in the South River and I am pleased to report on a recent email exchange with the state Division of Marine Fisheries regarding the South River Shellfish beds.

The very good news is that if we are successful in keeping bacterial counts within acceptable limits–still an important “if”!–the Division has confirmed to me its intention to open the shellfish beds on a seasonal basis next year. The Division’s area biologist speaks for all of us in saying to me that “I think there is a good resource there that the people of Scituate and Marshfield should be able to enjoy.”

But problems remain, and for the shellfish beds to be reopened year round further improvements are necessary. This year, the Town received federal stimulus funding to track down where some of the remaining bacteria in the river might be coming from, and then use that data to find the best places in town to control runoff.

The NSRWA and Mass. Bays program were in charge of sampling and the funding allowed us to hire 4 interns to help us trace the remaining bacteria sources this past summer. As we expected, the places with high wet weather bacteria counts were generally in the downtown area due to the high impervious surface coverage. There is also less flushing from the tides in that part of the river. We saw high counts in the area near Willow Street and the pipe that comes out just upstream of the Willow Street Bridge. Among other locations, we also found high bacteria in the stream that runs next to the Dairy Queen, which receives runoff from a very large area of downtown to the west including much of the Webster Street shopping area. The next step in the project is for the NSRWA and the Town to decide where and how to control these newly identified sources of pollution. Preliminary designs are being developed by engineers to control the runoff from these areas and will be presented to the public in the spring of 2011. After that we hope to apply for more funding to assist the town of Marshfield to construct the designs.

The good news for now is that as of December 1, 2010 until June 30, 2011 unless notified otherwise you can recreationally harvest shellfish from the North River (with a permit from Scituate or Marshfield). We hope that the testing this spring and winter shows good water quality results and that the South River clam flats will also be open soon for you and your children to enjoy and have some clam chowder for lunch!

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The North and South Rivers Watershed Association is a non-profit organization that focuses on the preservation, restoration, maintenance and conservation of the North and South Rivers and their watersheds. For membership information, contact NSRWA at (781) 659-8168 or visit www.nsrwa.org

Samantha Woods, Executive Director

Hot Spots and Low Flows

NSRWA Summer Sampling Finds Bacterial Hot Spots and Low Flows

The North & South Rivers Watershed Association concluded their 14^th year of River Watch Sampling, a volunteer driven water quality monitoring program at the end of the summer. Trained volunteers take water samples and readings of temperature, salinity, conductivity, and dissolved oxygen at ten sites along the North & South Rivers and the Scituate waste treatment plant. The results of the sampling provide the NSRWA with long-term baseline information on the health of our rivers’ water quality and encourages new groups of volunteers to become citizen scientists. This summer we had sixteen volunteers, ranging from high school students to retirees, help to gather this incredibly valuable information. In this era of budget cuts, for the most part local groups like the NSRWA are the only entity monitoring the health of our rivers!

Bacteria in our rivers

The results this year, not surprisingly, indicated low bacteria most likely due to the lack of rain and thus no storm runoff pollution. The NSRWA continues to see persistently high bacteria counts at the Willow St Bridge site on the South River in Marshfield and at the Washington Street Bridge site in Hanover/Pembroke on the North River. To provide more insight as to the origin of these persistent higher bacterial counts at Willow Street, the NSRWA, in partnership with the Town of Marshfield and the Massachusetts Bays program and with federal grant funding conducted in-depth sampling on the South River over the summer. We hope to have a presentation of those results at a workshop over the winter in Marshfield along with potential solutions for reducing those sources of pollution. In Hanover, the NSRWA has begun talks with the DPW on what the potential sources of contamination at the Washington St. Bridge could be and if there is any potential funding to further investigate it. One theory is that wildlife may be contributing, due to the large wetland system just upstream where the Indian Head and Herring Brook meet to form the headwaters of the North River.

Streams run dry

In addition to our annual water quality sampling, volunteers continued to monitor streamflows in the First and Third Herring Brooks. This summer was a particularly dry one and both brooks experienced many no-flow days. Both of these brooks feed municipal water supplies and both have several dams on them. Dammed parts of the First Herring Brook provide water to Scituate and groundwater wells near the Third Herring Brook provide water to Norwell and Hanover. Conservationists are becoming increasingly concerned that the doubling of water use in the summer and dams that are not managed to allow flow downstream during these low flow periods is resulting in dry streambeds.

The chart below is data collected from this summer on the First Herring Brook in Scituate between the upstream reservoir and the Old Oaken Bucket Pond. As you can see the flow ranges from 0 cubic feet per second (cfs) to over 5 cfs. The extremes in flow are caused by how the reservoir is managed. The town of Scituate holds water in the upper reservoir, thus streamflow goes to zero, then shuttles water from the reservoir to the Old Oaken Bucket pond via the brook to replenish the supply. The NSRWA is working with the town to identify a way to have more natural releases that would allow some water in the stream at all times and accommodate the town’s water needs. Clearly, summertime water conservation would help Scituate to have more flexibility in managing the brook to sustain a minimum level of stream health.

The bacteria sampling program runs through early June through late August. Our streamflow measuring program is year-round. We are enabled to conduct the bacteria sampling because of a generous anonymous donor every year. If you are interested in volunteering please let us know. We are always looking for a fresh group of citizen scientists to lend a hand.

A good explanation of why it's important to save water

Over the past few years, the NSRWA has gotten more deeply involved in issues of water quantity in our watershed communities. Between our work in the First Herring Brook trying to balance municipal and ecological water demand, to the 5th grade watershed education program, to the current Greenscapes Water Use Challege, we're trying to get the word out that saving water is important to our local streams and rivers.

The staff here are occasionally asked why it's important to save water. After all, once the water gets used, doesn't it end up back in the water cycle somehow, either by evaporating or soaking back into the ground? The key here is balance. In many cases, water is getting used in excess quantities a) at times of year when there is not as much water available (i.e. summer) b) in ways that do not replenish groundwater and surface water supplies.

This recent article from Slate does a great job of explaining why it's important to save water and reduce certain types of usage. After you read it, think about how you can reduce your own water usage, and keep an eye out for the NSRWA's various initiatives regarding water conservation.

New England Coast *Invaded* By Scientists!

I just got back from an 8-day trip surveying docks and rocky intertidal sites in Rhode Island (5 sites), Massachusetts (9 sites), New Hampshire (3 sites), and Maine (3 sites) for marine invasive species. The typical field day started at 7:30am and ended around 3:30pm, during which we visited 3 docks (or 1 intertidal site and 2 docks) and collected specimens. Then we brought the specimens back to the lab and sorted through them until about 8:30pm or so. Long, but fun days. My job in the field was to take water quality measurements (dissolved oxygen, salinity, and temperature) and later in the trip I also helped a fellow scientist, Niels, with amphipod and isopod collection. (Both are the "shrimpies" that you see swimming around in the water with you, often hanging onto algae. Amphipods are compressed side-side [laterally] and isopods are compressed top-bottom [dorso-ventrally].) In the lab, my job was to identify polychaete worms. By the end I had ID'ed 15 different (native) species in 9 different families! There weren't any newsworthy invasive finds on this trip, which is a good thing.

UPDATE (August 19)! There was a newsworthy find, apparently. I spoke too soon. A European shrimp, the "Rock Pool Prawn" (Palaemon elegans) was found in Salem. This species is a predator of small crustaceans in its native habitat back in England. Although the impacts here aren't known, its presence could result in a depletion of the local herbivorous invertebrate population, which would then result in an overgrowth of algae.

What follows are some photos from the trip. As you will see, the long days were worth it, because we did get to go to some really beautiful places. If you're interested in looking for marine invasives right here at home (in our own beautiful places) I conduct surveys in July and August around the South Shore - join me! (They're not nearly as intense, I assure you.)

My typical dock setup, with two water quality meters, a bucket with a Secchi disk to measure water clarity, and my trusty backpack (w/ trusty sunscreen)

Fort Adams State Park, Newport, RI (looking away from the fort and towards the bridge)

Popes Island Marina, New Bedford, MA - Not our cleanest site, but it looks pretty here!

Everyone busy on the docks at Mass Maritime Academy, Buzzards Bay, MA (we later got to see the training ship "Kennedy" come back to port after time in dry dock!)

The lab at Brown University where we worked for three nights (and scientists like Jim Carlton, in the foreground)

Brewers Marine, Plymouth, MA (the only South Shore site!)

Rowe's Wharf, Boston, MA

Rocky shore, Rye, NH

UNH Coastal Marine Lab, Newcastle, NH - there were lots of herring swimming around here, being attacked by stripers from below and terns from above

My station in the Harris lab at UNH, complete with three identification keys and a dissecting scope

Samples are brought back in big plastic bags (often with smaller "Whirlpak" bags inside) which are kept in coolers until we're ready to go through them

Winter Island, Salem, MA (and a lot of slippery rockweed)

Dyer Cove, Cape Elizabeth, ME

We ate at this clam shack at our last site in South Freeport, ME - a tasty conclusion to the week

Spring Showers Bring Spring Runoff (that's how that goes, right?)

A friend reminded me that we haven't updated in a while. Don't let the lack of blogging activity make you think we're not busy here at the watershed, though! We're very busy, in fact. The 60+ degree weather is making me very eager to get outside and start some of the projects I've been lining up all winter. Here's what's coming up this spring at the watershed - maybe you'll join us?

My biggest spring project is our coastal stream monitoring project. I'm working with my fellow Mass. Bays Program regional coordinators to install water level and temperature dataloggers in 25 streams along the Massachusetts coast. We're soliciting volunteers to help us count herring migrating into these streams, so if you're interested in counting fish on the South River in Marshfield, Bound Brook in Scituate, or the Herring Brook in Pembroke, let us know. (Check our website for more details.)

We are continuing to check our stream gauges on the Third Herring Brook, so you're also welcome to help out with that. The recent nor'easter brought so much water to the Third Herring Brook watershed that our gauges were underwater! (Compare that concept to this - that's a lot of water!) The water levels have dropped in the past couple of days though, so they're legible again.

Finally, we're trying to get into 5th grade classrooms all over the South Shore to teach about water conservation and watershed science. I've been making presentations for the teachers (including "Watershed Jeopardy") and we'll be holding a "Water Day" at each school, including watershed models, groundwater models, a water conservation game, and a tour of important water-related places in town. This is all part of our Greenscapes program for this year.

Of course, that's not the extent of our work - summer will be even busier. We have our regular Riverwatch monitoring and invasive species monitoring, plus a special project working with the town of Marshfield to track bacteria in the South River.

Keep checking our website and our Rivernet newsletter for all the exciting opportunities to get outside and help us (we need it!)