Background

Buzzards Bay is one of the cornerstones of life on the South Coast of Massachusetts. Our commerce, recreation, art, homes, and lives resound to the rhythm of these waters. The data reported in the Coalition's Baywatchers III report continues to indicate that along the Buzzards Bay coastline excessive inputs of nutrients, particularly nitrogen, are damaging water quality and the health of the Bay at its most vulnerable points. The Bay’s more than 30 harbors, coves, and tidal rivers which support the most diverse habitats, productive shellfish beds and much of the recreational use and aesthetic values of the Bay are showing increasingly poor water quality and loss of healthy bay habitats. The Slocums River and Apponagansett Bay in Dartmouth are among the most impaired.

The water quality of Dartmouth’s estuaries is consistent with land-use analyses performed by the Buzzards Bay Project National Estuary Program in 1994 which suggested that nitrogen pollution in these estuaries is several times higher than the threshold at which habitat decline is expected to begin. The measured water quality data, absence of eelgrass beds, and low shellfish populations all underscore the level of poor habitat quality within the Apponagansett Bay and Slocums/Little River Estuaries. Pollutant levels in the Slocums River are estimated to be three-fold higher than the river’s tolerance.

As development of the watershed continues, the estuary has the potential to exceed its tolerance level for nitrogen by up to six-fold. The current state of Dartmouth’s estuaries and future growth projections suggest that this serious ecological degradation will only continue. The technology and planning tools exist to determine the causes of the pollution, and through education, advocacy and example, we can reverse this decline and protect and preserve this valuable resource for future generations. We intend to do this with the first comprehensive coastal restoration project ever in Buzzards Bay: Turn the Tide.

Turn the Tide aims to:

• Identify and understand all sources of pollution in the Slocums/Little Rivers and Apponagansett Bay and how each contributes to the degradation of these estuaries.
  
• Develop an Estuary Restoration Strategy for the Slocums/Little Rivers and Apponagansett Bay—a blueprint for action to establish a clear course for improving water quality and increasing natural resources such a shellfish and eelgrass.
  
• Educate all citizens about the value of these areas to Dartmouth’s quality of life and the role we all must play in maintaining them.
  
• Remediate known sources of pollution on the Paskamansett River and Buttonwood Brook.
  
• Create a model for public and private, community-based restoration that can be used in other areas along Buzzards Bay and throughout New England.