NSRWA and Mass. Bays Program project reports

• RiverWatch April 2004 (NSRWA Newsletter): Special issue dedicated to stormwater.
• Stormwater Assessment and Proposed Best Management Practices for Downtown Marshfield (final report). Funded by the MA Office of Coastal Zone Management.
• Model Stormwater Bylaw

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.

Unfortunately, both the North and South Rivers and their tributaries all suffer from stormwater pollution, to the point that after rainstorms, parts of the rivers are unfit for swimming or shellfishing.

The NSRWA, in conjunction with our regional partner the Massachusetts Bays Program, has helped leverage significant funding resources for stormwater management in nearly every town on the south shore. We have assisted these communities in writing multiple successful grants that have generated hundreds of thousands of dollars to address stormwater assessment projects, stormdrain mapping, and the implementation of stormwater Best Management Practices (such as the purchase of a state-of-the-art street sweeper). These stormwater management projects will significantly improve water quality in coastal and inland water bodies, and will protect, enhance, and restore sensitive resources such as shellfish beds and swimming beaches.

Stormwater is an intractable problem that requires a concerted effort by watershed associations, state, and local government as well as you! Please join us in our efforts to restore our waters so they are safe for people and fish alike. Click here to learn the Top 10 ways that YOU can be part of the solution to stormwater pollution.

The NSRWA has created a portable "Stormwater Education Booth" to teach citizens how they can be part of the solution stormwater pollution. NSRWA staff and volunteers take the booth to public events and meetings in the region, and provide interested community members with information and promotional items. If you would like to host the booth or volunteer to staff it, please contact Wendy Garpow.