# Mystic River Water Quality Receives D

- Link: https://greenlivingguy.com/2012/05/mystic-river-water-quality-receives-d/
- Published: 2012-05-21T14:10:37-04:00
- Author: greenlivingguy

_**Mystic River Water Quality Receives a “D”**_
_**Ongoing efforts, analysis highlight
problem areas**_

(Boston, Mass. – May 20, 2012) – At the Mystic River Watershed Association’s 16th
annual Mystic River Herring Run and Paddle, EPA and the Mystic River Watershed Association
announced the sixth public reporting on the condition of the Mystic River since 
kicking off a collaborative effort addressing water quality issues in the urban 
river in 2006.

This year, the Mystic River Watershed received a grade of “D” for the calendar year
2011, a slight improvement from the 2010 grade. The grade is based on bacterial 
contamination and was based on monitoring data over the past year showing that water
quality met swimming standards only 46 percent of the time, while boating standards
were met 87 percent of the time.

EPA New England joined community members and environmental advocates at the Blessing
of the Bay Boathouse in Somerville, Mass. to announce the grade and celebrate the
return of the herring to the Mystic.

“Although our grade is not where we would like it to be, we are continuing to focus
on problem areas and apply all our available tools to improving water quality in
the Mystic River,” said Curt Spalding, regional administrator of EPA’s New England
office. “We need to redouble our efforts and stay the course over the next several
years to ensure the water quality in the Mystic River Watershed improves.”

While a slight improvement was seen during 2008 and 2009 when the watershed earned
a grade of “C-“, water quality in the river has generally been a “D”, and was no
different during the 2011 calendar year.

The past year saw continued efforts to improve water quality conditions in the watershed.
Both EPA and MassDEP continue to pursue a number of active enforcement actions targeted
at improving water quality in the Mystic River Watershed. These enforcement efforts
have resulted in the removal of a number of illicit discharges of sewage to storm
drains throughout the watershed. Enforcement efforts have resulted in the removal
of over 14,000 gallons per day of sewage from storm drains in the Mystic River Watershed,
with numerous additional illicit connections that have been identified and are scheduled
to be removed this year. A number of additional repairs have been made that have
prevented tens of thousands of gallons of sewage from discharging to the river during
rain events. These aggressive efforts continue to address violations of water quality
with regard to bacteria.

_“This year’s grade shows that persistent impairment of water quality caused by 
ancient sewer and stormwater systems continues to bedevil the Mystic River Watershed,”
said EkOngKar Singh Khalsa, Executive Director of the Mystic River Watershed Association.“
These water quality problems will be severely compounded by the increased flooding
and larger numbers of severe storm cycles that are anticipated to occur as a result
of New England’s changing climate. Fortunately the solutions to the problems we 
face are well understood and implementation of these solutions will produce honest
work and good jobs for local residents. The Mystic River Watershed Association, 
through its Monitoring Network, is working to develop a clear understanding of the
watershed’s current physical and environmental conditions. This understanding will
insure that precious financial and human resources engaged to restore our area infrastructure
and the local natural environment will be deployed effectively.”_

Long-term efforts to improve this watershed will be achieved through a collaborative
effort amongst all stakeholders. Last year, the Mystic River Watershed Initiative
Steering Committee signed onto a mission and set of priorities that will guide its
actions for the next year. The focus is on water quality as well as open space and
public access. The Water Quality group intends to focus on reducing and eliminating
sanitary sewer overflows (SSOs) in the watershed, providing stormwater technical
assistance to municipalities, reducing nutrient inputs to the watershed, and better
understanding and remediating legacy pollution in the Malden River area.

When assessing water quality to assign a grade to the Mystic River Watershed, EPA
uses similar criteria as for the [Charles River](https://greenlivingguy.com/2011/10/charles-river-a-model-for-river-management-and-restoration/)
Initiative, as follows:

A – meet swimming and boating standards nearly all of the time
B — meet swimming
and boating standards most of the timeC — meet swimming standards some of the time,
and boating standards most of the timeD — meet swimming and boating standards some
of the timeF — fail swimming and boating standards most of the time

![A serene river flowing alongside a rocky shore, with light reflecting off the 
water and trees lining the far bank. A bridge is visible in the background against
a clear sky.](https://i0.wp.com/greenlivingguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/image-
11.png?resize=400%2C300&ssl=1)

A serene view of the Mystic River, showcasing its current water quality and surrounding
landscape.

EPA’s Administrator, Lisa Jackson, has made environmental justice and the restoration
of urban waters clear priorities. She has stated that environmental justice “is 
not an issue we can afford to relegate to the margins. It has to be part of our 
thinking in every decision we make.” Environmental justice is an important consideration
in EPA New England’s urban rivers strategy and is a clear objective of the Mystic
River Watershed Steering Committee.

More Information: EPA’s Mystic River Web site ([www.epa.gov/mysticriver](https://www.epa.gov/mysticriver))

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