Five-Year Watershed Action Plan for the Taunton River Watershed Geosyntec Consultants
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Bridgewater State University Virtual Commons - Bridgewater State University Reference Documents Taunton River Watershed Project 2006 Five-Year Watershed Action Plan for the Taunton River Watershed GeoSyntec Consultants Recommended Citation GeoSyntec Consultants (2006). Five-Year Watershed Action Plan for the Taunton River Watershed. Taunton River Watershed Project Reference Documents. Item 1. Available at: http://vc.bridgew.edu/taunton_riv_ref/1 This item is available as part of Virtual Commons, the open-access institutional repository of Bridgewater State University, Bridgewater, Massachusetts. Five-Year Watershed Action Plan for the Taunton River Watershed SEPTEMBER 2006 Prepared For: Massachusetts Executive Office of Environmental Affairs Attn: Vandana Rao 251 Causeway Street, Suite 400 Boston, MA 02114 Submitted By: 289 Great Road Acton, MA 01720 (978) 263-9588 www.geosyntec.com 2006 Taunton RIVER WATERSHED FIVE-YEAR ACTION PLAN TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY…...………………………………………………………………………1 SECTION 1: INTRODUCTION.................................................................................................... 3 1.1 PROJECT PURPOSE.......................................................................................................... 3 1.2 THE WATERSHED ACTION PLANNING PROCESS............................................................ 4 SECTION 2: OVERVIEW OF WATERSHED BACKGROUND INFORMATION ............................. 5 2.1 WATERSHED BACKGROUND INFORMATION................................................................. 5 2.1.1 Physical Features of the Taunton River Watershed ................................................... 5 2.1.2 History of the Taunton River .........................................................................................11 2.1.3 Wildlife Habitat/ Rare and Endangered Species...................................................11 2.1.4 Water Use and Supply Issues ......................................................................................12 2.1.5 Population Growth/Growth Planning...........................................................................12 2.1.6 Watershed Organizations............................................................................................13 2.2 SUMMARY OF MAJOR WATERSHED INFORMATION SOURCES.....................................14 SECTION 3: THE FIVE-YEAR WATERSHED ACTION PLAN ..................................................... 31 3.1 WATERSHED ACTION PLANNING CATEGORIES .......................................................... 31 3.2 WATERSHED ACTION PLAN.......................................................................................... 31 3.3 WATERSHED ACTION PLAN SUMMARY MATRIX .......................................................... 50 MAPS: MAP 1: TAUNTON RIVER WATERSHED LAND USE MAP.......................................................... 54 MAP 2: TAUNTON RIVER WATERSHED WATER RESOURCES MAP ......................................... 56 MAP 3: TAUNTON RIVER WATERSHED WILDLIFE HABITAT MAP............................................ 58 APPENDICES: APPENDIX 1: SUMMARY OF MAJOR WATERSHED INFORMATION SOURCES....................... 60 APPENDIX 2: TAUNTON RIVER WATERSHED CONTACT LIST ................................................. 67 2006 Taunton RIVER WATERSHED FIVE-YEAR ACTION PLAN EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The 562-square mile Taunton River watershed includes all or portions of 40 cities and towns in southeastern Massachusetts and is the second largest watershed contained entirely within Massachusetts. With funding from the Massachusetts Executive Office of Environmental Affairs (MA- EOEA), GeoSyntec Consultants was retained to coordinate local watershed organizations and municipalities in development of a prioritized five-year action plan for the watershed. This project provided a unique opportunity for watershed communities to cooperatively prioritize goals and set a course for the future of the watershed. The recommendations of this locally developed Five Year Watershed Action Plan will receive prioritization for funding from MA-EOEA via state agency grant programs and other funding sources under MA-EOEA purview. The three primary goals of this project were as follows: 1. Promote watershed-wide planning, cooperation and consistency by emphasizing local involvement a regional perspective in the planning goals of the watershed communities. 2. Synthesize and prioritize existing information from a variety of existing sources. 3. Develop a Five Year Watershed Action Plan that is relevant to the watershed communities and achievable within a five-year timeframe given existing and realistically anticipated resources. GeoSyntec facilitated a series of planning sessions with a Watershed Advisory Committee (WAC) comprised of municipal officials, watershed organizations, regional planning agencies, state environmental agencies and other stakeholders. These meetings were used to develop the complete list of watershed action items described in Section 3 of this Five-Year Watershed Action Plan. The WAC then voted to establish the following “High Priority” action items in five watershed planning categories listed below: High Priority Action Items for the Taunton River Watershed: A. Water Quality Improvement & Protection Identify sites for Low Impact Development (LID) storm water retrofits. Apply LID retrofits at "example" sites for showcasing LID function, which can be used for public outreach and awareness in promoting LID technologies in the watershed. Increase monitoring at all six wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in the watershed. Monitor at 20 new points at the Brockton WWTP and expand monitoring from 10 to 20 points at the Taunton WWTP. Investigate new wastewater treatment technologies. Identify sources of funding to research innovative wastewater treatment technologies for application in WWTPs. Increase water quality monitoring of fisheries (including anadromous fisheries). This includes (1) develop a QAPP for volunteers to ensure data integrity and (2) identify and register rare cold water fisheries in the watershed. B. Wildlife Habitat and Ecology Protection (including Water Quantity Protection) Protect established NHESP Priority Habitat areas, including: (1) update municipal by-laws and regional plans to protect Priority Habitat areas, using available tools like Bio-Map and Living Waters Map, (2) obtain more support from NHESP to municipalities through hiring of Outreach Coordinator, (3) at a regional level, purchase/acquire lands in Priority 1 2006 Taunton RIVER WATERSHED FIVE-YEAR ACTION PLAN Habitat areas, (4) focus protect efforts on habitat of globally rare species (e.g. Segregansett River, Nemasket River, Three Mile River and Hockomock Swamp). Restore rare Atlantic white cedar swamp habitat. Support completion of ongoing watershed-wide assessment and prioritization of culverts and other barriers to fish passage. C. Recreation and Access Remove remnants of the Plymouth Street Dam in Bridgewater, allowing for a "source to the sea" continuous canoeable passage from the Matfield River to Fall River. Develop a walking/equestrian trail system at the Assawompset Pond complex, including signage, public awareness programs, trail maps, parking areas and ADA-access. Develop a basin-wide trail system map to identify existing trail systems. This map would also be planning tool to identify potential connection points between trail systems. Assess the previously completed "Taunton River Trail Plan" as a starting point for this effort. D. Open Space, Land Use and Sustainable Development Identify and prioritize cold water tributaries of Taunton River for mapping and official designation with the state. Purchase/acquire land around the Oxbow in Raynham; this landform is unique for Taunton watershed and includes globally rare species. Preserve and protect working and historic farms. E. Public Outreach and Education Develop basin-wide recreational maps that identify canoe access points and historical sites. Printed copies of maps may be provided at kiosks within the watershed. Develop a digital, interactive watershed map of that incorporates information from existing digital Public Access Board maps. Develop and install signage to promote awareness of important watershed features. Examples of signage may include “Entering the Taunton River Watershed” and tributary stream signage at major stream crossings, Water Supply Protection Areas, and Source Water Protection Areas. Develop laminated canoe trail maps for canoeable rivers in the watershed (e.g. Three Mile River, Mill River and Town River) and distribute in kiosks at canoe access points. The maps may identify historical and archeological sites. Section 3 of this report includes a more detailed description of the high priority action items listed above, as well as complete listing other actions recommended for implementation in the Taunton River Watershed over the next five years. 2 2006 Taunton RIVER WATERSHED FIVE-YEAR ACTION PLAN SECTION 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 PROJECT PURPOSE GeoSyntec Consultants, Inc. (GeoSyntec) was contracted by the Massachusetts Executive Office of Environmental Affairs (MA-EOEA) to work with local communities to develop a Five-Year Watershed Action Plan for the Taunton River watershed. The Taunton River watershed encompasses all or portions of 40 cities and towns contained entirely within southeastern Massachusetts. This project provided a unique opportunity for watershed communities to cooperatively prioritize goals and set a course for the future