Preventing Stormwater Pollution

Stormwater is the source of most of the pollutants that degrade our rivers, streams, lakes ponds and wetlands. Stormwater is also a valuable resource that should infiltrate into the ground to recharge our aquifers and replenish our streamflows.
 
The US EPA recently released a new draft stormwater permit - the Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System, or MS4, permit - for public comment. This permit is intended to help cities and towns work to clean up polluted stormwater runoff, which is the biggest source of pollution to the North and South Rivers.  This permit is the first to be issued in Massachusetts and will cover the North Coastal area including Boston. Our watershed is not part of this permit however the precendent set with this permit will influence how our permit is issued.

What is a MS4 General Stormwater Permit?
All operators of stormwater drainage systems, including municipalities and public agencies, are required to have stormwater discharge permits, which are administered by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection  (DEP).

The permit regulations call for operators (towns) to follow a basic set of practices including the adoption of a stormwater bylaw to ensure that stormwater discharges do not violate the Federal Clean Water Act. Though improvements have been made, stormwater remains one of the primary factors causing both the North and South Rivers to violate state water quality standards for shellfishing and swimming.

 

 

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Low Impact Development - Restoring Natural Hydrology

Check out the newest video on rain gardens and other Low Impact Development Techniques that help us make our water sustainable and clean from the US Botanical Gardens and the US EPA.

Stormwater pollution is our nation's greatest threat to clean water. When it rains, stormwater flows over driveways, lawns and sidewalks, and then into the stormdrains along the street. Along the way, the stormwater picks up trash, chemicals, dirt, and other pollutants. Stormdrains usually discharge the polluted stormwater directly into our ponds, rivers, and bays. This contaminates the water we use for drinking, swimming, and fishing. This is called non-point source pollution.

The NSRWA, in conjunction with our regional partner the Massachusetts Bays Program, has helped many South Shore communities with stormwater assessment projects, stormdrain mapping, and the implementation of stormwater Best Management Practices and Low Impact Development Techniques. These projects help protect our water, shellfish beds, and bathing beaches and improve and maintain our water quality and water quantity.

Low Impact Development (LID) is an environmentally-friendly approach to land use development and storm water management that aims to reduce and mitigate impacts to land, water, and air.  The approach emphasizes the integration of site design and planning techniques that conserve natural systems and hydrologic functions on a site. The practice has been successfully integrated into many municipal development codes and storm water management ordinances throughout the United States.

Specifically, LID aims to:

• Preserve open space and minimize land disturbance;
• Protect natural systems and processes (drainage ways, vegetation, soils, sensitive areas);
• Re-examine the use and sizing of traditional site infrastructure (lots, streets, curbs, gutters, sidewalks) and customize site design to each site;
• Incorporate natural site elements (wetlands, stream corridors, mature forests) as design elements; and
• Decentralize and micromanage storm water at its source.

Stormwater Bylaws

In 2008 the NSRWA initiated and passed a stormwater bylaw at Scituate's Town Meeting. The bylaw requires that projects that disturb greater than 15,000 sq ft or increase impervious surfaces by 25% or more to use LID techniques and to retain stormwater onsite. Previously only new subdivisions or projects within 100 feet of wetlands would be reveiwed for stormwater increases from development. We are working with the town to implement the stormwater regulations that will govern how the bylaw is administerd.

South Shore Raingarden Project

In 2005 we received a 104b3 grant from the EPA to install demonstration raingardens in South Shore communities. A raingarden is a planting bed made with sandy soil, gravel, and native plants that collects stormwater runoff and absorbs it. We completed our gardens in 2008, and now you can visit them and see them in action.

Kingston and Pembroke LID Retrofits

We have been assisting the towns of Kingston and Pembroke with grants they received through MassDEP's 319 program to install LID retrofits. Raingardens and naturalized basins are being installed at the Kingston Intermediate School, and Pembroke has installed permeable pavers at the Oldham Pond boat ramp and raingardens and permeable pavement at the Town Hall.

 

Stormwater Bylaws

NSRWA and Mass Bays have worked with the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) to encourage multiple South Shore communities to pass stormwater bylaws, which enable the town to regulate the stormwater associated with new construction. This past spring Scituate and Cohasset passed these bylaws, and we are currently working with Marshfield to evaluate the potential there. We also encourage them to consider stormwater utilities, which would provide funding for stormwater infrastructure maintenance.

LID Training

 The NSRWA received a  MassDEP 319 grant in 2004  to provide LID training for decision-makers in four South Shore communities (Pembroke, Hanover, Kingston, and Plymouth) The primary goals of the program were to provide training and technical assistance on LID to municipal officials, municipal board members, developers, and engineers, promote and encourage the use of LID techniques in new development through changes in local regulations and bylaws and implement direct LID control measures.

Bylaw Review

NSRWA worked with an environmental engineering consulting firm, Comprehensive Environmental Inc., to review the land use bylaws and regulations in each of the towns and identify barriers to LID implementation. CEI also provided several models that can supplement municipal regulations to encourage this type of development:

• Stormwater Design Criteria
• Example Steep Slope Language
• Example Earth Movement Language

CEI has also developed a Pollutant Load and Reduction Model that can be helpful to a variety of users including watershed groups, municipal land use decision-makers, and engineers. The Model allows the user to determine how different types of LID techniques can reduce the pollutant loads in a given area.

• Pollutant Load and Reduction Model (Contact us for Excel file)
• Pollutant Load and Reduction Model Tutorial

Outreach and Training

We held a series of training workshops in September 2005 for municipal officials, volunteer board members, developers and engineers.  We distributed copies of a film called "Reining in the Storm - One Building at a Time." The 30-minute film provides a comprehensive overview of LID concepts by providing vivid examples and case studies. It was produced in Virginia in 2004 by independent film-maker David Eckert and was funded in part by the VA Department of Conservation and Recreation. The NSRWA added a 15-minute Chapter entitled "LID in Massachusetts". Our segment highlights four LID projects in our state: a rain garden in Cohasset, a green roof in Billerica, a permeable paver boat launch in Littleton, and an LID subdivision in Tyngsboro.