Forums and Symposia
2024 Symposium
On June 12, 2024, the Southeast New England Program (SNEP) at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in Region 1 (New England) was pleased to welcome over one-hundred-fifty attendees throughout the region to our 2024 Symposium in Bristol, RI.
Symposium Purpose
The Southeast New England Program (SNEP) Strategic Plan identifies three priority goals: safe and healthy waters, thriving watersheds and natural lands, and sustainable communities. Every other year, SNEP hosts a Symposium to give its grantees and regional partners the opportunity to present on projects and critical research questions, and to learn about the latest research on environmental issues facing the southeastern New England coastal region, hear about the success of new approaches, and broaden their understanding of regional issues and solutions.
Agenda
2024 SNEP Symposium Agenda - Final (pdf)
Slides
- Session 1: SNEP Tools & Innovations for Climate Resiliency and Climate Financing
- Session 2: Planning for Climate Resilience and Turning Plans into Action
Recordings:
Catalyzing Regional Collaboration and Innovation: the foundation of the Southeastern New England Program - a Keynote Presentation by Curt Spalding.
With an unusually wide range of experience in the environmental protection field as an advocate, administrator and consultant, Curt's leadership accomplishments include the development of the EPA Phoenix Award winning Save The Bay Center in Providence RI, and ecosystem plans to restore and protect New England’s iconic waters, including Lake Champlain, Cape Cod, Lake Champlain, Southern New England Coast, Long Island Sound, and Great Bay. His long-term advocacy efforts substantially contributed to the historic restoration of Narragansett Bay. Leading Brownfield and Superfund initiatives, along with initiating the programs that help communities gain the capability and capacity to be more climate change resilient, Curt consistently worked to see New England cities revitalized and made healthy and prosperous places to live for every resident.
After leading Save The Bay for 18 years and serving as EPA New England Region 1 Administrator under President Obama, Curt turned to research, teaching and consulting as a Professor of the Practice with the Institute at Brown for Environment and Society and as a Senior Consultant with GZA GeoEnvironmental.
NOTE ON AFTERNOON SESSION: While the afternoon panel discussion was recorded, the file was corrupted and no audio could be recovered.
Poster Presentations
Manure Management for Drinking Water Protection: Success, Challenges, and Opportunities - Molly Allard, Northern RI Conservation District.
Improper manure management by small livestock owners has been identified by Providence Water as a leading cause of nutrient and bacteria pollution to the Scituate Reservoir, Rhode Island's largest drinking water supply. Comprised of portions of the towns of Scituate, Foster, Gloucester, Johnston, and Cranston, the Scituate Reservoir watershed is a largely rural area in which small subsistence livestock operations are relatively common. Funding provided by a USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (USDA NRCS) Conservation Innovation Grant (CIG) and a subsequent Southeast New England Program (SNEP) Grant has allowed Northern Rhode Island Conservation District (NRICD) to investigate a variety of innovative strategies to address this concern, including manure removal, the installation of manure management structures, and the creation of a manure exchange marketplace. Each outreach and conservation strategy tried has encountered unforeseen challenges, but also yielded valuable insights about the values that small livestock producers in the Scituate Reservoir watershed hold and the best ways that they can be reached by future outreach efforts. As new sources of funding for reaching this population become available, a close analysis of the effectiveness of past methods is essential to moving forward in the most impactful way possible to continue to address the needs of both livestock owners and users of the Scituate Reservoir's important water resources. Manure Management for Drinking Water Protection: Success, Challenges, and Opportunities (pdf)
A Mesocosm Experiment: Effects of Eelgrass Density on Greenhouse Gas Fluxes - Alexandra Beardwood, U.S. EPA. Seagrass beds provide key ecosystem benefits, including playing a critical role in climate mitigation. We tested the effects of different eelgrass densities on greenhouse gas (GHG) fluxes at the water-atmosphere interface by creating six treatments (4 replicates each) with different shoot densities (per m2): bare (0), sparse (~60), low (~120), medium (~150), medium-high (~180), and high (~215) in 115-gallon mesocosms with unfiltered flow-through Narragansett Bay water. Results indicate that there are significant increases in CH4 and N2O emissions with increasing eelgrass densities measured at high tide. During the day and night, system greenhouse gas fluxes (CO2e-100y) are dominated by CO2 (67 – 108%) followed by N2O (-9.0 – 32%) and CH4 (0.98 – 1.1 %). We suspect that there was not greater CO2 uptake by higher density eelgrass treatments as expected due to respiration from epifauna and epiphytes, which colonized leaf surfaces, as well as rapid organic matter mineralization. We observed N2O uptake during the day in bare, sparse, low, and high treatments, but at night, N2O was emitted across all density treatments. Nitrate reduction and denitrification might account for the uptake of N2O during the day while incomplete denitrification might account for the emissions of N2O at night.
Windswept Bog Wetland Restoration Project: Progress Made and Lessons Learned from Phase 1 Completion - Karen Beattie, Nantucket Conservation Foundation, Inc. The Nantucket Conservation Foundation (NCF), Mass. Division of Ecological Restoration Cranberry Bog Program (Mass. DER), and Fuss & O'Neill environmental engineers just completed Phase 1 construction for a wetland restoration project at NCF's Windswept Bog property on Nantucket Island, Massachusetts, which was retired from cranberry cultivation in 2018. Active restoration work is taking place during the winter dormant season to avoid rare species impacts. Phase 1 construction began in January 2024 and was completed in mid-March 2024, with ~14.0 acres of former cranberry bog cells restored to hydrologically connected wetlands. Restoration of the remaining bog cells (~26.2 acres) will take place between November 2024 - March 2025.
This project will set a trajectory for natural recovery of ~40 total acres of retired cranberry bogs to diverse wetland habitats that preserve and enhance refugia for inland wildlife species, provide ecosystem services such as water quality improvement and flood storage, create a pathway for eventual marsh migration, and improve coastal resilience in the northeastern portion of the island.
Extensive pre-restoration research to gain understanding of site conditions, rare plant and animal species and exemplary habitats on the property was undertaken prior to construction and extensively informed the wetland restoration design. This data will serve as an important baseline for determining post-restoration success in meeting ecological goals.
We present preliminary results and lessons learned from the completion of Phase 1 of restoration, and thoughts on how this information will be used to adaptively adjust plans for Phase 2 implementation this fall. This work underscores the importance of gaining a thorough understanding of existing site conditions, plant species composition, and wildlife habitat use prior to initiating large scale ecological restoration work.
Broadmeadow Brook Restoration: Achieving Ecological Outcomes in an Urban Headwaters - Kate Bentsen, MA Division of Ecological Restoration
The goal of this restoration project was to achieve a dynamic, diverse, and self-sustaining stream and wetland ecosystem that provides a full suite of ecosystem services accessible for the benefit and enjoyment of neighbors, residents, and visitors. Broadmeadow Brook Restoration: Achieving Ecological Outcomes in an Urban Headwaters (pdf)
Community-based Implementation of Stormwater Management in Hen Cove, Pocasset, MA - Keith Barber, Pocasset Water Quality Coalition
Pocasset Water Quality Coalition (PWQC) formed in 2019 as a result of citizen outrage over degrading water quality. Pocasset is a one hundred year old cottage community without storm water controls and decades of uncontrolled stormwater runoff, which led to degraded water quality in Pocasset, MA. Community implemented stormwater management using bioretention cells and rain gardens helped to address some of these challenges. Community-based Implementation of Stormwater Management in Hen Cove, Pocasset, MA (pdf)
Piloting an 'embankment filter' as a stormwater treatment practice for steep slopes. - Debra Berger, MA Department of Conservation and Recreation
This project will consist of pilot design and installation of an "embankment filter" a filtering stormwater control measure that can be installed on slopes that are typically considered too constrained for conventional stormwater controls. We will develop implementation documents including standard details, materials and construction specifications, and methods for estimating pollutant reduction using the EPA BMP Performance Curves. These will be shared with the greater New England stormwater community so this measure can be more readily incorporated in other locations. This project will have local impact, improving water quality at a public swimming beach plagued by beach closures and providing education to the environmental justice populations that use this beach. The project will also have regional impact by providing a new tool to designers working on constrained sites, thereby increasing the capacity of MS4 permittees and other stakeholders to complete projects. Piloting an 'embankment filter' as a stormwater treatment practice for steep slopes (pdf)
Building Community & Ecological Restoration at Cook Pond - Groundwork Southcoast
GWSC's work at Fall River's Cook Pond focuses on youth workforce development; restoring trails and native flora; managing invasive plants; increasing tree canopy; addressing needed improvements to current stormwater retrofits; and assessment of ability to conduct stormwater retrofits of impervious surfaces in the watershed, while concurrently engaging the surrounding environmental justice (EJ) community. Building Community & Ecological Restoration at Cook Pond (pdf)
Notes from a Pilot Watershed: Engaging Members of the Community - Lessons Learned and Future Plans - Alissa Cox, University of Rhode Island
As is the case in many coastal communities around the globe, the majority of households along the southern Rhode Island coast rely on local groundwater to drink, and onsite wastewater treatment system (OWTS; i.e. septic systems) to treat the wastewater they generate. In addition, the nearby coastal waters, both the Atlantic Ocean and tidally connected coastal salt ponds, are major drivers of the local economy. A partnership led by the Town of Charlestown (RI), supported by URI's Onsite Wastewater Resource Center, Salt Ponds Coalition and Save the Bay is leveraging SNEP funding to implement a five-year pilot watershed management program to protect Greater Allen's Cove (part of Green Hill Pond) and eastern reaches of Ninigret Pond from nutrient pollution. One element of this project's multi-faceted approach centers community engagement, with the goal of empowering local citizens to protect and improve the quality of local groundwater and nearby coastal ponds. Here we share (1) our past community engagement efforts and activities, (2) major themes and outcomes from these events, and (3) activities and events planned for the remaining two years of this project - including our new Salt Pond Smart education and property certification program we are hoping to pilot this year. Our team is excited connect with other SNEP Symposium attendees to exchange inspiration, suggestions and advice related to recruiting additional project partners, as well as effective community engagement approaches designed to spark local residents to coalesce and implement practices that will protect their local water resources. Notes from a Pilot Watershed: Engaging Members of the Community - Lessons Learned and Future Plans (pdf)
Truman Drive Greenway Project - Michael F. Debroisse, City of Woonsocket
This project is to conduct a road diet and transform an underutilized public road into a new, linear park providing a number of co-benefits to the City's residents and businesses by removing 1.5 of the road's travel lanes and converting that unused paved surface into a linear, green infrastructure park, complete with native species plantings and human-scale lighting that complements the existing, adjacent Blackstone River Bikeway. These native landscape elements would be used to treat stormwater while providing direct and indirect recreational, economic, and public health benefits to the City and its Environmental Justice communities. The Truman Drive Green Infrastructure Parkway is an opportunity for the City of Woonsocket to transform an underutilized public road into an asset that provides a number of benefits to City's residents and businesses. This project will convert existing underutilized paved surfaces within the right-of-way into functional greenspace. The new greenspace will incorporate green infrastructure best management practices to treat stormwater runoff, act as a new linear park that improves the safety and Bikeway experience for all users, reduction of the heat island effect, improved access for an EJ community to use the Bikeway, improved access for Bikeway users to Downtown Woonsocket, and increased greenspace in an EJ community that is today, dominated by harsh and unwelcoming hardscape. This project is located along about a 2,300-foot segment of Truman Drive that is between Clinton Street to the North and a new roundabout with Bernon Street to the South. This segment of Truman Drive is on the northern bank of the historic Blackstone River with several developed properties located between the road and the River. The Main Street corridor, (Downtown Woonsocket) includes a number of local businesses and is located on the west side of Truman Drive from the River. The Blackstone River Bikeway, beginning in Worcester, MA, currently occupies part of a former northbound travel lane that was once part of Truman Drive. Truman Drive Greenway Project (pdf)
Coastal Watershed Nutrient Loading and Assessing Groundwater Quality Risk from Onsite Wastewater Treatment Systems (OWTS) in a SNEP Pilot Watershed - Matt Dowling, Town of Charlestown, RI
The Town of Charlestown, a coastal community situated on three salt ponds, relies heavily on OWTS to manage wastewater onsite and on groundwater as a potable water source. The town's highest densities of OWTS are located within proximity to these ponds, with some areas exceeding 10 OWTS/acre. Further, the town's economy is primarily based on the coastal zone where tourism, recreation, and coastal businesses thrive.
OWTS can be an effective method of managing wastewater in the absence of a sewer system by treating and recycling wastewater onsite. Yet not all pollutants are removed during wastewater treatment. Conventional septic systems are typically effective at removing bacteria and pathogens; however, the pollutant nitrogen (N) remains at elevated concentrations in effluent plumes from these systems and is problematic for both human health and surface water resources.
Models indicate nearly 80% of groundwater N concentrations in these densely developed coastal areas originate from OWTS effluent, where over 70% of OWTS still utilize older conventional and substandard OWTS technologies. We have correlated a statistically significant relationship of groundwater N concentrations to the density of OWTS and determined that the mean groundwater N concentration in our coastal zone is above 3mg/L, indicative of high risk for source water pollution.
Here, we have developed a model to predict shallow groundwater N concentrations in the coastal aquifer using private well data correlated with septic system N loading (Kg-N/yr). Using the results, we have quantified risk of individual OWTS for contributing to impaired groundwater quality. Our model assigns individual systems a numerical value based on a comprehensive suite of metrics to quantify risk. The results of this assessment are currently being used as a component to rank OWTS eligibility for a grant funded modernization program to reduce pollutant loading. Coastal Watershed Nutrient Loading and Assessing Groundwater Quality Risk from Onsite Wastewater Treatment Systems (OWTS) in a SNEP Pilot Watershed (pdf)
Jamiel’s Park Restoration Project - Herb Durfree, Town of Warren, RI
The first implementation project from SWIG-funded Market to Metacom Climate Resilience and Economic Development plan to create 1,000 feet of living shoreline and salt marsh restoration in Belcher Cove. Jamiel’s Park Restoration Project (pdf)
USGS Science to Inform Nutrient-Management Activities in Southeast New England - Kendall Goldstein, U.S. Geological Survey New England Water Science Center
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) New England Water Science Center, in partnership with the EPA Southeast New England Program (SNEP), has collaborated with multiple state and local governments and agencies to address issues related to nutrient pollution in water resources across southeast New England. On Cape Cod, Massachusetts, the USGS is evaluating the effects on nutrient loads of current and potential future nutrient-management activities, such as the installation of sewers on the Maravista Peninsula in Falmouth and of permeable reactive barriers in numerous potential locations on the Cape. In selected rivers on Cape Cod, the USGS is characterizing nitrogen loading at the stream-reach scale and using groundwater-flow models to delineate source recharge areas to identify and prioritize areas for targeted nitrogen mitigation.
In Rhode Island, the USGS has monitored water quality conditions in the Sakonnet River and in Academy Cove in Wickford, where a regional-scale groundwater model is being used to evaluate nitrogen loading from groundwater in the newly sewered areas surrounding the Cove. The model will provide more information on the location, magnitude, and rates of change of loading in response to sewer connections in the area. For watersheds of the Narragansett Bay, the USGS is estimating nitrogen loading from onsite wastewater treatment systems to inform decisions related to nutrient management. Through these continued collaborations across southeast New England, the USGS provides timely and reliable science upon which decision makers can rely to inform nutrient-management activities.
USGS Science to Inform Nutrient-Management Activities in Southeast New England (pdf)
Remediating Stormwater and Building Climate Resilience on the Kempton Corridor - Daniel Goulart, Buzzards Bay Coalition
Poster highlights the green infrastructure project on the Kempton Corridor in New Bedford, MA. The project involves GI, NBS, and impervious surface reduction to reduce pollutant loading to Buttonwood Brook and its receiving waters in Apponagansett Bay. Construction is scheduled to start in June of 2024. Remediating Stormwater and Building Climate Resilience on the Kempton Corridor (pdf)
Preserving Fish Migration War Memorial Park Nature-Like Fish Way REVISION - Tim Hay, Town of West Bridgewater
The Town of West Bridgewater seeks to repair/rebuild/improve the existing fish ladder on River Street using nature based solutions as an essential part of the local ecosystem and to maintain area as an educational site accessible to local and regional high schools and colleges. Preserving Fish Migration War Memorial Park Nature-Like Fish Way REVISION (pdf)
Sesachacha Pond Ecological Enhancement and Resilience Strategies on Nantucket, MA - Leah Hill, Town of Nantucket Natural Resources Dept.
This project is focused in one of Nantucket's brackish great ponds, Sesachacha which is facing water quality degradation due to increased nutrient loading. The decline in water quality has led to a reduction in habitat for benthic species including the pond's natural population of oysters. In 2018 a winter storm event led to severe episodic erosion that caused Polpis Road, the roadway that runs along the southwest side of the Pond, to fail. As a result, the road was unpassable for several weeks. Using innovative and transferable resiliency and restoration measures for road protection, reef balls will be placed subtidal in the Pond as wave attenuators and oyster habitat. Landward, a living shoreline will be constructed using native vegetation to protect the roadway from erosion and increase biodiversity along Sesachacha Pond. This project is a collaboration between the Town of Nantucket and Mass Audubon with funding from SNEP for the reef ball portion. Sesachacha Pond Ecological Enhancement and Resilience Strategies on Nantucket, MA (pdf)
Working with Stakeholders to Remove Ghost Fishing Gear from Narragansett Bay, RI - Susan Inglis, Commercial Fisheries Research Foundation
Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island has an active commercial and recreational fishery that includes both stationary and mobile gear types, making gear very susceptible to damage and loss due to marine traffic, and tidal and storm events. This ongoing project works with stakeholders to implement a plan developed to locate, remove and recycle lost/abandoned fishing gear (ghost gear). This is our second year of ghost gear removal from Narragansett Bay, following a pilot removal survey conducted in 2023. Our removal procedures include Commercial fishermen's knowledge to produce a map of known ghost gear locations, followed by confirmation using underwater video cameras. A side scan sonar is then conducted in these locations to aid in assigning appropriate retrieval methods. To reduce interactions with active fishing gear, removal activities were conducted in January-March. Removals were conducted on commercial lobster and fish pot vessels using an onboard single commercial grapple and side hauler on confirmed single targets. This year, we also successfully tested out a multiple grapple sled dredge using commercial draggers. This extraction technique targeted areas with large debris fields with single ghost traps in low fishing and vessel activity areas. We collected data on effort, gear type, location, depth, substrate, tag (permit) numbers, species in gear (alive or dead), amount and type of biofouling, and status of ghost panel/ biovents. The majority of ghost gear removed were traps and rope, along with other debris such as chain, wire, cable and anchors. Most of the debris collected was recycled through Mid-City Scrap and Net you Problem. To date we have removed over 10,000 pounds of lost fishing gear from Rhode Island waters. Working with Stakeholders to Remove Ghost Fishing Gear from Narragansett Bay, RI (pdf)
Hinckleys Pond - Herring River Headwaters Eco-Restoration Project - Michael Lach, Harwich Conservation Trust
The mission of the nonprofit Harwich Conservation Trust is to preserve land that protects woods, water, wildlife and our shared quality of life on Cape Cod. Thanks to SNEP funding for ecological restoration design and permitting, the Trust is leading the effort to rewild retired bogs on Hinckleys Pond at the headwaters of the Herring River in Harwich. Community-based Implementation of Stormwater Management in Hen Cove, Pocasset, MA (pdf)
Effects of Sea-Level Rise and Climate Change on the Fresh Groundwater-Flow System of Martha's Vineyard - Timothy D. McCobb, U.S. Geological Survey
Shallow, unconfined aquifers such as the one underlying the island of Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, are vulnerable to the effects of sea-level rise (SLR) and climate change. Potential effects of rising sea level include changes in the altitude and depth of the water table, freshwater/saltwater interface position, and the volume of stream base flow. Projected increases in air temperature and changes in precipitation magnitude and seasonal distribution may affect the future amount and timing of groundwater recharge.
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, is investigating the effects of SLR and climate change on the groundwater resources of Martha's Vineyard by developing a transient, three-dimensional groundwater-flow and transport model (MODFLOW-6). The model is being used in conjunction with air temperature and precipitation data from downscaled general circulation models (GCMs) for projected future emissions representing best-case and worst-case scenarios. The GCM data are being used to inform a Soil-Water-Balance (SWB) model to determine spatially variable, projected recharge through the 21st century.
Initial field geophysical surveys of the depth to bedrock (passive seismic method) resulted in identification of the northwest-to-southeast sloping bedrock surface ranging from -500 to -1,125 feet below NAVD88. Time-Domain Electromagnetic surveys indicated that the depth to the freshwater/saltwater interface (52-472 feet below land surface) varies greatly with distance from shore, proximity to coastal ponds, and geologic setting.
The groundwater-flow and transport model will be a useful tool to evaluate the spatial and temporal impacts to the hydrologic system because the effects from climate change and SLR are not expected to be uniform across the island and over time. Results will inform current and future drinking-water availability and conditions under which management and conservation measures may be needed. Effects of Sea-Level Rise and Climate Change on the Fresh Groundwater-Flow System of Martha's Vineyard (pdf)
Collaboratively Restoring the Hardest Working River in America - Caleigh McLaren, Blackstone Watershed Collaborative
This poster explores the three main tasks the Collaborative is undertaking under this grant, including supporting fish passage over the lowest four dams on the Blackstone through convening an advisory group and offering public meetings; highlighting indigenous voices as being central to the river's stewardship and connecting this to the fish passage project through a fish migration parade; and supporting future stewards and practitioners interested in dam removal and ecological restoration through a training and creation of outreach materials. Collaboratively Restoring the Hardest Working River in America (pdf)
A Comprehensive Plan to Restore Water Quality in Hundred-Acre Cove - Kate McPherson, Save the Bay
Hundred Acre Cove (HAC) is an important embayment bounded by Barrington and East Providence, RI, and Seekonk, MA. The waters of HAC are impaired by bacteria pollution and have been permanently closed to shellfishing since the 1990s. At the same time, users of HAC are likely unaware of its chronic water pollution problems. Over the past 28 years, towns, state agencies, and private watershed associations in RI and MA have tried to pinpoint sources of pollution affecting HAC, including studies of the Runnins River, with mixed results. A Comprehensive Plan to Restore Water Quality in Hundred-Acre Cove (pdf)
Mini-conference: "The Pleasant Bay Ecosystem: Past, Present and Future" - Owen Nichols, Center for Coastal Studies
Forty-six people attended a workshop held Saturday 3/26/2022 at the Chatham Community Center, which featured a keynote address, twelve oral presentations, two panel discussions, and a poster session.
The mini-conference was followed by a closing social at Pleasant Bay Community Boating, including a campus tour and viewing of the solar-powered research vessel R/V Friend of Pleasant Bay. Attendees highlighted the value of monitoring more than single ecosystem components, noting the need to examine the relationships between components and how those change over time, especially in the context of multiple stressors like climate change and nutrient pollution, and to measure success of our efforts to repair damage caused by anthropogenic impacts as well via habitat restoration and conservation. Participants noted the importance of community involvement and citizen science, and the need to foster collaboration around the Bay in both science and education.
The workshop provided a foundation upon which to develop a long-term, interdisciplinary monitoring program as an essential component of a holistic, ecosystem-level approach to conservation, research, education and management as we maintain our relationship with this dynamic ecosystem in a changing climate.
The workshop was organized by Owen Nichols (Center for Coastal Studies), Sarah Griscom and Ali Hogue (Pleasant Bay Community Boating), and Carole Ridley (Pleasant Bay Alliance), and supported by a Southeast New England Program (SNEP) Watershed Grant funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) through a collaboration with Restore America's Estuaries (RAE).
Mini-conference: "The Pleasant Bay Ecosystem: Past, Present and Future" (pdf)
Development of automated remote sensing methods for water quality mapping to better understand changing conditions in Cape Cod and Rhode Island Lakes - Tara Nye Lewis, Cape Cod Commission
Cape Cod has nearly 900 lakes and ponds that are an integral part of the region's water resources and economic vitality. Healthy ponds provide wildlife habitat, as well as valuable ecosystem services, including nitrogen attenuation and a sense of place. They are ecologically rich and extremely fragile. Human activity and land use have significantly degraded freshwater pond quality. Assessing pond health is important for our communities, however, physically monitoring all the ponds is not attainable. Project partners are aggregating existing and historical water quality data (water clarity and chlorophyll) from Cape Cod and Rhode Island, as well as supplemental data for the SNEP region that is available through the National Water Quality Portal. Utilizing an automated pipeline built in a high-performance computing environment, satellite data products will be generated to analyze and predict pond water quality. The satellite derived products will be field-validated and calibrated to account for region-specific optically complex lake system dynamics. This will allow us to better understand the current state and changing conditions of ponds across the SNEP region where in situ monitoring can't be, or hasn't been, done. In both the Cape Cod and Rhode Island areas of study, the proposed remote sensing analysis will add significantly to the sample size available for evaluating how land use and human activities surrounding ponds are impacting water quality. The data will be made available to the public in an online interactive map-based viewer interface (e.g., LakeBrowser). The poster will detail the project methods to develop a predictive relationship between satellite observations and water quality for the SNEP region. Development of automated remote sensing methods for water quality mapping to better understand changing conditions in Cape Cod and Rhode Island Lakes (pdf)
Weir Creek Restoration - Eric Ohanian, Association to Preserve Cape Cod
Salt marshes are unique ecosystems that provide a range of ecological benefits. They provide valuable habitat, flood and storm protection, improve water quality, and sequester carbon. Human development has threatened the functions of these key benefits. The Weir Creek tidal marsh in Dennis, on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, has been impacted by multiple road crossings and channel modifications that have contributed to long-term habitat degradation. In recent years, the area has seen periods of extensive and frequent flooding, preventing road access in some cases. With anticipated rising sea level and increased storm frequency, creating coastal resiliency in the West Dennis community is a priority. The Association to Preserve Cape Cod has been working with the Town of Dennis, engineering firm Tighe & Bond, Woods Hole Group, the Cape Cod Commission, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, and local partners to study and model the system to develop designs for the replacement of two undersized culverts along Lower County Road. Hydraulic modeling of the system was completed to show the tidal levels in the upstream part of the system and predicted sea-level rise scenarios with and without the culvert in place. In addition to gaining expertise from project partners, the project team has prioritized public and stakeholder input. As practitioners strive to restore ecosystems effectively, community engagement and support has become a key part of building a sustainable restoration plan. The combination of thorough data collection and modeling and coordination with project partners and stakeholders will help to ensure a successful and well-managed restoration project and outline pathways to restoration for projects still to come. This project has been funded by an EPA Southeast New England Program Watershed Grant through collaboration with Restore America's Estuaries and a National Fish and Wildlife Fund Coastal Resilience Fund Grant. Weir Creek Restoration (pdf)
Community MusicWorks Center Water Retention Parklet - Kelly Reed, Community MusicWorks
The Community MusicWorks Center Water Retention Parklet is a project within the larger campus for CMW's new headquarters. The building, which will be completed this summer, incorporates a simple yet dynamic and community engaging landscape design that focuses on managing and recycling stormwater rather than overloading the city's drains. The exterior space invites the neighborhood for musical performances, provides outreach opportunities to learn about water reuse and the use of native plant species and to serve as the welcoming feature to the center.
The building footprint maximizes the building area of the site creating a large roofscape, which is the ideal candidate to collect and drain rainwater to the roof drains and then, downspouts. The downspouts exit the building to route water to an underground storage tank for filtration and eventually, reuse. The underground storage tank will be used to irrigate the landscape in a subsurface irrigation system.
Additionally, the site and abutting city sidewalks will be a combination of permeable pavers, landscaped native plantings and rain gardens that will slow runoff. These features will provide groundwater recharge, water quality improvements and peak flow attenuation for all storm events.
To implement the project, the average rainfall for the area needed to be calculated to size and appropriately locate the underground water storage tank. The site is also a brownfield site having previously been the home to a gas station, which required the site to have an environmental evaluation to determine if contaminated soils were present. The project is required to adhere to a work plan to ensure any contaminated soils are capped while also providing new blended soils profiles to support long lifespans of all new plantings and their respective drainage needs. Community MusicWorks Center Water Retention Parklet (pdf)
Providence Sidewalk Bioswales - Amelia Rose, Groundwork Rhode Island
Our poster will focus on GWRI's 2019-2022 SNEP-funded project through which we designed, installed, and have maintained 57 sidewalk bioswales across the city of Providence. The sidewalk bioswales are planted areas with curb cuts in the right-of-way in front of homes, businesses, and park spaces where pavement and compacted soil were removed and then replaced with stone, soil, and plants, to better absorb stormwater runoff. Providence Sidewalk Bioswales (pdf)
Chepachet River Wastewater Improvements - Karen Scott, Town of Glocester
Overview of the SNEP funded Chepachet Village Wastewater Improvements project. Chepachet Village Wastewater Improvements (pdf)
Benefits of Near-Coast Wetland Restoration for Coastal Resilience - Michael Soares, Fuss & O'Neill, Inc.
Windswept Bog is a retired cranberry farm owned by the Nantucket Conservation Foundation (NCF). Uplands and wetlands were altered extensively for its conversion to agriculture and include a drainage/irrigation system of ditches, weirs, culverts, and buried irrigation. The result is a simplified landscape that concentrates water's flow through the site, reducing its residence time and hindering wetland development in the retired bogs. Since 2018, NCF has partnered with Fuss & O'Neill and MA Division of Ecological Restoration to restore 40.6 acres of retired cranberry bogs to historical freshwater wetlands and adjacent uplands. The key to the successful re-establishment of inland wetlands is restoring wetland hydrology. Main objectives for wetlands restoration are (1) habitat enhancement/creation for rare species and locally unique habitats and (2) attenuation of peak flows to surface and coastal waters following storm events.
In addition, sea-level rise scenarios by NOAA predict that portions of Windswept Bog will be affected by the year 2100. Losses of estuarine habitats and their buffering capacity have been identified as two of the main coastal resilience challenges facing Nantucket. While stream crossings downstream currently prevent tidal influence at the site, Windswept Bog is well-positioned to accommodate saltmarsh migration and sea level rise. In response, restoration in the site's northwest quadrant has been designed to expand the footprint of low-lying wetlands, offering an opportunity to improve the coastal resilience of Nantucket and Polpis Harbors. Restoration will be implemented to support the Town of Nantucket's future resiliency actions by increasing the acreage of freshwater wetlands that are connected to coastal systems. Benefits of Near-Coast Wetland Restoration for Coastal Resilience (pdf)
Watershed Planning, Partnerships and Public Education to address Excessive Nutrients in a Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe Ancestorial Pond - Leah Soloway, New England Environmental Finance Center
This project is focused on Santuit Pond in the Town of Mashpee, where there are 170 acres of Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe (MWT) Lands taken into trust that are distributed over 11 parcels. The land and water resources have been home to the MWT for 12,000 years. The Tribal Trust Lands and the associated water resources are sacred and culturally essential to the Tribe, and as such the environmental health of these lands is critical to MWT life and culture. The Pond is also home to many residents in the Town of Mashpee who enjoy the recreational benefits.
Santuit Pond suffers from poor water quality due to overabundant nutrient levels, specifically phosphorus in freshwater, and the pond does not fully support contact recreation and aquatic life. Santuit Pond is being degraded by current and historical polluted runoff from surrounding residential development.
The Santuit Pond Watershed Based Plan was developed through a partnership between the MWT and the Town of Mashpee with technical assistance from the SNEP Network, The Nature Conservancy, TRC Group and Fuss and O'Neill. The plan was initiated with the MassDEP watershed based plan tool and adapted based on supplemental reports and information collected during its development. The plan includes all nine elements and describes all activities that have been completed, are underway or being planned for the future. It is anticipated that Alum treatment, stormwater control measures and the implementation of sewer collection and treatment will reduce phosphorus load by 80%. Public outreach and education has been an important component of the project that incorporated workshops, mailers to pond residents, public presentations and web based content [See Santuit Pond Learning Hub and Low Impact Development for Homeowners]. The poster will review the recipe for cleaning up Santuit Pond.
Watershed Planning, Partnerships and Public Education to address Excessive Nutrients in a Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe Ancestorial Pond (pdf)
Urban Green Infrastructure Construction Projects, Spectacle Pond Watershed, Cranston RI - Ed Tally, City of Cranston
The City of Cranston has completed the design, permitting, and construction of a stormwater best management practice (BMP) to improve the water quality of runoff from Pomham Street to Spectacle Pond in Cranston, RI. Pomham Street was identified as a feasible BMP location in the Phosphorus Reduction Plan for Spectacle Pond completed in 2021. This is one of several BMPs that the City of Cranston has implemented to reduce nutrient loading from nearby roadways, parking lots, and parks. The Pomham Street Stormwater BMP is a subsurface infiltration system that collects stormwater from a portion of Pomham Street and the adjacent residential lots and conveys it to underground chambers and stone to allow it to infiltrate. Prior to the construction of this BMP, untreated runoff from this area shed directly over land to Spectacle Pond. Urban Green Infrastructure Construction Projects, Spectacle Pond Watershed, Cranston RI (pdf)
Micro-siting and Nitrogen Removal Efficiency of Liquid Injection Permeable Reactive Barriers in Residential Watersheds of Southeastern Massachusetts - Jessica Thomas, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth SMAST
As the development of temperate coastal watersheds worldwide increases, nutrient loads to groundwater and particularly nitrogen (NO3-, NO2-, and NH4) have increased by up to 10-15 times background levels. In addition to the known health impacts that nitrogen (as nitrate) can have on people through drinking water, nitrogen enrichment of estuarine waters results in a system-wide decline in water and habitat quality. Currently, estuaries along the coastal United States are being adversely affected by higher levels of nitrogen entering from watersheds. This influx is leading to eutrophication and a decline in aquatic resources. Due to widespread estuarine nitrogen enrichment, various techniques are being explored by coastal communities to mitigate watershed nitrogen inputs to their estuaries. One of the technologies seeing increasing interest due to its moderate cost, ease of installation, and minimal impact on the environment is nitrogen removal by liquid injection permeable reactive barriers (PRBs).
In this pilot project, micro-siting techniques, which include both hydrological and contaminant profile studies were employed to fully characterize a site located in a nitrogen-impacted estuary system on Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, USA. Following micro-siting activities to determine the most optimal placement and design, a forty-six linear meter liquid injection PRB was installed to evaluate the efficiency of the PRB in enhancing denitrification. Upgradient nitrate+nitrite averaged from 4 - 7.67 mg/L (site average: 5.78 mg/L), which is typical for residential groundwater nitrate+nitrite concentrations. Nitrate+nitrite reduction associated with the PRB ranged from 97.9% to 99.8% (site average: 98.6%). Samples of excess N2 gas were collected to confirm that denitrification was the pathway for nitrate+nitrite reduction. Micro-siting and Nitrogen Removal Efficiency of Liquid Injection Permeable Reactive Barriers in Residential Watersheds of Southeastern Massachusetts (pdf)
Improving Water Quality in the Three Bays Through Stormwater Management - April Wobst, Association to Preserve Cape Cod
The Three Bays stormwater management project was a six year, $2 million project that supported planning, assessment, design, permitting, construction, and maintenance of green infrastructure best management practices within the watershed along with education and outreach to local communities in the town of Barnstable and across Cape Cod. The project completed a watershed scale assessment to identify and prioritize potential stormwater retrofits and provide a comprehensive stormwater management plan including 10% concept designs for 71 sites. This plan, along with community input, was used to inform selection of 10 sites for further survey work, development of existing conditions plans and initial design. Of these ten sites, seven were funded through to completion with a total of nine BMPs constructed including three bioretentions, a sand filter, a gravel wetland, and a series of four dry swales. This project managed by APCC was completed in partnership with the town of Barnstable and stormwater engineers at the Horsley Witten Group with funding from the EPA Southeast New England Program Watershed Grants and the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management Coastal Pollutant Remediation Grants. Improving Water Quality in the Three Bays Through Stormwater Management (pdf)
Facing The Colossus: A Promising Control Regime For Common Reed (Phragmites Australis) Applied To Facilitate Inland Saltmarsh Migration And Recover High Marsh - Alissa Young, Mass Audubon
We will discuss a novel management regime applied to control stands of the invasive plant species, P. australis, within forecasted saltmarsh migration zones between low-lying coastal uplands and saltmarshes. Our regime relies on recovering tidal hydrology with repeated cutting and chemical control. It aims to control entire stands of P. australis in a relatively short duration (1 to 2 years) while maximizing control and minimizing the use of chemical herbicide. We present the results of our pilot application at Mass Audubon's Great Neck Wildlife Sanctuary in Wareham, MA. We will also outline our conceptual framework for regime design and the potential benefits to imperiled plants & wildlife and reducing health risk from mosquitoes. Facing The Colossus: A Promising Control Regime For Common Reed (Phragmites Australis) Applied To Facilitate Inland Saltmarsh Migration And Recover High Marsh (pdf)