Parker River Watershed Year 5 Watershed Action Plan (2006 – 2010) Photo Credit: Jim Fenton June 2005 Commonwealth of Massachusetts Executive Office of Environmental Affairs The Commonwealth of Massachusetts Executive Office of Environmental Affairs 251 Causeway Street, Suite 900 Boston, MA 02114-2119 Mitt Romney GOVERNOR Kerry Healey LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR Tel: (617) 626-1000 Fax: (617) 626-1181 Stephen R Pritchard or (617) 626-1180 SECRETARY http://www.state.ma.us/envir December 15, 2005 Dear Friends of the Parker River Watershed: It is with great pleasure that I present you with the 5-Year Watershed Action Plan for the Parker River Watershed. The plan will be used to guide local and state environmental efforts within the Parker River Watershed over the next five years. The plan expresses some of the overall goals of the Executive Office of Environmental Affairs, such as improving water quality, restoring natural flows to rivers, protecting and restoring biodiversity and habitats, improving public access and balanced resource use, improving local capacity, and promoting a shared responsibility for watershed protection and management. The Parker River Watershed Action Plan was developed with input from a steering committee including the former Parker River Watershed Team and multiple stakeholders including watershed groups, state and federal agencies, municipal officials, Regional Planning Agencies and, of course, the general public from across the Watershed. We appreciate the opportunity to engage such a wide group of expertise and experience as it allows the state to focus on the issues and challenges that might otherwise not be easily characterized. From your input we have identified the following priorities that apply to all the subwatersheds: • Water Quantity • Water Quality • Biological Data / Habitat • Open Space, Land Use, and Growth • Recreation • Policy, Outreach, and Education I commend everyone involved in this endeavor. Thank you for your dedication and expertise. If you are not currently a participant, I strongly encourage you to become active in the Parker River Watershed’s restoration and protection efforts. Sincerely, Stephen R. Pritchard Secretary Table of Contents Table of Contents............................................................................................................................. i List of Figures................................................................................................................................iii List of Tables ................................................................................................................................. iv List of Abbreviations ...................................................................................................................... v Glossary of Terms......................................................................................................................... vii 1.0 Introduction............................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Background........................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Vision Statement................................................................................................................... 1 1.3 Planning Process ................................................................................................................... 2 1.4 Coordination with other Planning Groups and Processes..................................................... 3 1.5 Recent Accomplishments......................................................................................................4 2.0 Watershed Description.............................................................................................................. 6 2.1 General Overview ................................................................................................................. 6 2.2 Description of River Course .................................................................................................8 2.3 Basin Topography and River Slope ...................................................................................... 8 2.4 Surficial Geology.................................................................................................................. 9 2.5 Land Use ............................................................................................................................... 9 3.0 Recommended Actions (by issue) .......................................................................................... 11 3.1 Water Quantity.................................................................................................................... 11 3.1.1 Instream Flows............................................................................................................. 13 3.1.2 Water Withdrawals, Water Budgets, Interbasin Transfers .......................................... 13 3.1.3 Water Demand/Supply................................................................................................. 14 3.1.4 Water Conservation Measures ..................................................................................... 14 3.1.5 Stormwater................................................................................................................... 14 3.2 Water Quality...................................................................................................................... 16 3.2.1 Water Quality Assessments/Monitoring...................................................................... 18 3.2.2 303(d) Lists .................................................................................................................. 19 3.2.3 Non-Point Source Pollutants........................................................................................ 19 3.2.4 National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) ...................................... 20 3.2.5 Septic System Failures................................................................................................. 21 3.2.6 Streamteam .................................................................................................................. 21 3.2.7 Shellfish Closures/Fish Advisories.............................................................................. 22 3.2.8 Plum Island Sound ....................................................................................................... 22 3.2.9 Policy ........................................................................................................................... 23 3.3 Biological Data/Habitat ...................................................................................................... 24 3.3.1 Fisheries ....................................................................................................................... 26 3.3.2 Shellfish ....................................................................................................................... 27 3.3.3 Birds/Wildlife .............................................................................................................. 27 3.3.4 Invasive Species........................................................................................................... 27 3.3.5 Bioassessments ............................................................................................................ 29 3.3.6 Priority Habitats........................................................................................................... 29 3.3.7 Habitat/Species Restoration......................................................................................... 29 3.3.8 Plum Island Sound ....................................................................................................... 30 Parker River Watershed Action Plan i Final Report 3.3.9 Policy ........................................................................................................................... 30 3.4 Open Space, Land Use, and Growth................................................................................... 31 3.4.1 Open Space Plans......................................................................................................... 32 3.4.2 Land Protection/Land Trusts........................................................................................ 32 3.4.3 Smart Growth............................................................................................................... 33 3.4.4 Policy ........................................................................................................................... 33 3.5 Recreation ........................................................................................................................... 34 3.5.1 Public Access Board Sites ........................................................................................... 34 3.5.2 Greenway Trails........................................................................................................... 34 3.5.3 Policy ........................................................................................................................... 34 3.6 Policy, Outreach, and Education......................................................................................... 36 3.6.1 Policy ........................................................................................................................... 36 3.6.2 Academic