Current Projects

About Watersheds

The following articles, taken from the Water Resources of Massachusetts - U.S. Geological Survey - Water Resources Investigations Report 90-4144, will give you some general information on contaminants and agencies in Massachusetts, as we prepare our watershed page.

Sources of Contamination

The unconfined, shallow stratified-drift aquifers that supply almost all of the State's public-supply wells are extremely susceptible to contamination from activities at the land surface. Most water-quality problems occur in the eastern third of Massachusetts, which contains most of the State's population. Many of these problems can be attributed to waste disposal, urbanization, and agricultural activities. Since 1978, 74 of the approximately 1,400 public-supply wells and wellfields in the State have been closed because of contamination. Over 600 private wells in 120 communities are also known to have been contaminated (Executive Office of Environmental Affairs, 1990).

Organic compounds widely used by industry, especially solvents such as trichloroethylene, methyl chloride, and tetrachloroethylene, are the major ground-water contaminants in the State - 56 public supply wells have been closed because of contamination with organics. Organic compounds commonly reach ground water from waste lagoons, pits, landfills, transfer stations, and leaking sewage lines, or from improper storage and illegal discharge.

In Massachusetts, there are 17 facilities that store and treat hazardous waste, 10 facilities that store hazardous waste at the site of generation, and over 13,000 facilities that generate hazardous waste. Of the 13,000 generators, over 1,500 produce more than 1,000 kilograms (about 2,200 pounds) a month (Executive Office of Environmental Affairs, 1990).

Treatment, storage, and disposal of hazardous waste occurred at many more sites in the past than at present; many of these sites have been abandoned or now only generate hazardous waste. Spills and releases have occurred at many of the operating and abandoned sites and facilities. To date, remediation has been completed at only a small percentage of sites.

Septic systems, which service about one-third of the houses in Massachusetts, can contribute to ground- water pollution and threaten private and public water supplies. The MDEP requires that water suppliers withdrawing over 100,000 gal/d own or control land use within 400 ft. of a well, for protection against biological contamination. Smaller public-supply wells can have smaller protection areas whose sizes vary according to yield or demand. However, these protection areas do not protect wells from contamination by nitrates and organic compounds. Some public-supply wells and many private wells have been contaminated by nitrates or organics or both. To provide further protection, the areas within one-half mi. of each public- supply well have been designated by MDEP as "interim wellhead protection areas".

Leachate from landfills has caused the closing of at least 6 public-supply wellfields and an unknown number of private wells. Landfill leachates commonly contain high concentrations of iron, dissolved solids, nitrogen (as ammonia or nitrate) and waste organic compounds. Most well closures have resulted from contamination by waste organics. Landfills that have closed since 1971 must be capped with relatively impermeable material. For new landfills, and additions to existing landfills, the MDEP now requires that additional measures, such as installation of liners, leachate-collection systems, and monitoring wells, be taken to protect ground-water.

Other sources of ground-water contamination include road salt, oils, fuels, chemicals stored in underground tanks, and agricultural fertilizers and pesticides. In 1967, the Massachusetts Department of Public Works (MDEP) began covering all of its stored salt to prevent leaching, and in 1978 the Department began providing funds to towns and municipalities to cover salt stockpiles. Fuel oil or gasoline has contaminated private and public wells in several locations. For example, a public-supply wellfield in the stratified-drift aquifer in Truro, on Cape Cod, was closed because of a gasoline leak from a nearby underground-storage tank. This closing required the use of temporary emergency wells and increased the demands on other wellfields. Agricultural pesticides have been detected in water from public and private wells in the farming areas of the Connecticut River Valley in west-central Massachusetts, and in water from private wells near potato fields in southern Bristol County in southeastern Massachusetts. In the 1980's, the pesticides ethylene dibromide (EDB) and aldicarb were found to have contaminated over 50 private wells and were responsible for the closing of the wells of the West Springfield municipal water supply (Executive Office of Environmental Affairs, 1990). Massachusetts now requires pesticide and fertilizer products to be registered and restricts the use of many pesticides.

Water-Resources Management

In Massachusetts, cities and towns have the primary responsibility to regulate land use and to manage their water resources. However, communities must follow guidelines specified by State laws. Policies pertaining to water-resources planning and management are made primarily by the Massachusetts Water Resources Commission (MWRC) within the Executive Office of Environmental Affairs (MEOEA) and by the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA). MWRC, which includes representatives from MEOEA, the Executive Office of Communities and Development, and the public, sets criteria and priorities for cooperative programs between Federal and State government agencies that relate to water issues. Most of the water-resources planning and regulation functions are divided between two MEOEA departments: MDEM (Department of Environmental Management) and MDEP (Department of Environmental Protection - formerly the Department of Environmental Quality Engineering).

Most of the water-resources responsibilities of MDEM are met by the Division of Water Resources. These responsibilities include regulation of interbasin transfer, flood control, and water-resources planning and development and hydrologic data collection for State programs. The Division also licenses well drillers and maintains files of well-completion reports. The Division has cooperative programs with USGS and other Federal agencies to collect and interpret water resources data (For example, precipitation, streamflows, ground-water levels, water chemistry, water use) and to assess ground-and surface-water resources.

MDEP has several divisions that are responsible for water quality: Water Supply, Water Pollution Control, Environmental Analysis, Hazardous Waste, Solid Waste, and Wetlands and Waterways Regulation. The Division of Water Supply issues permits for all water withdrawals in excess of 100,000 gal/d, permits for public supply wells, collects information on ground-water quality, and allocates funds to communities for water treatment and for acquisition of land to protect aquifers. The Division of Water Pollution Control develops and implements programs to prevent or clean up the pollution of ground water and surface water. This is partly accomplished by the issuance of surface- and ground-water discharge permits. The Division also administers MDEP's programs to improve and update the maintenance and operation of waste water facilities. The Division researches new technologies for the control of water pollution and abatement. The Division cooperates with USGS to maintain a streamflow monitoring network, resource inventory, and to research solutions for operational problems. The Division of Environmental Monitoring is the analytical laboratory for MDEP. It regularly collects and analyzes samples of raw and treated public drinking water and is responsible for the analysis of samples of ground water that may be contaminated. The Division of Hazardous Waste responds to chemical spills and other emergencies involving oil and hazardous materials, investigates illegal disposal, and supervises cleanup of hazardous waste. It also approves programs to monitor ground-water movement and quality, supervises hydrogeologic studies, and evaluates proposals to clean contaminated water. The Division of Solid Waste oversees the operation of landfills and other solid waste facilities and ensures that environmental safeguards protect surface water and ground water from leachate contamination. The Division also helps communities to develop long-term plans to dispose of solid waste. The Division of Wetlands and Waterways Regulation works with local conservation commissions to administer the Wetlands Protection Act, which regulates activities in or near wetlands.

A third MEOEA department, the Metropolitan District Commission (MDC), manages watersheds of the Boston metropolitan water system, and manages flood-control projects, especially in eastern Massachusetts.

<Back