Monitoring Plan Mike Mickelson and Ken Keay Massachusetts Water Resources Authority
Boston Harbor project • CSO upgrades • cleaner effluent • improved outfall • better dilution • subpycnocline discharge • distance from shore
concerns about outfall relocation • safe to swim • safe to eat fish • aesthetics • ecosystem
Monitoring Plan development 1988 regulators require monitoring 1991 Monitoring Plan developed 1992 baseline monitoring implemented 1994-96 monitoring design modifications 1994 Contingency Plan developed 1995 Bays Eutrophication Model (BEM) completed 1995 draft thresholds developed 1996 thresholds revised
Monitoring Plan development(continued) 1998 BEM model tested against monitoring data 1998 specific issues addressed (lobster larvae, whale-ship collisions, food web) 1999 final threshold statements and statistical protocols 1999 Monitoring Plan revised 1999 outfall to come on line
EPA/MADEP Permit for outfall T01:MWRA’s action list 1. monitor effluent 7. Ambient Monitoring Plan • test diffuser dilution • model eutrophication • study lobster larvae • submit scope of work for a whale-prey food web model • assist review of red tide monitoring 8. Contingency Plan • report exceedances quickly • simulate a problem • measure parameters relevant to nitrogen removal • maintain old outfalls in good working order
Permit (continued) 9. implement Best Management Practices 10. impose water conservation 11. keep hazardous waste out of the system 13. monitor sludge quality for agricultural use 15. limit industrial discharges 16. monitor and improve CSO facilities 18. maintain the sewer system
Permit (continued) 20. public reporting includes • the monthly Discharge Monitoring Reports • all “caution” and/or “warning” level exceedances • all reports sent by the MWRA to the OMSAP for review • any proposed changes to the ambient Monitoring Plan or Contingency Plan
objectives of monitoring • test for compliance with the Permit • test whether environmental changes are within the bounds projected by the SEIS • test for exceedance of Contingency Plan thresholds
basis of thresholds • relative to standards • Permit • State, federal criteria or guidelines • as assumed in EIS • modeled nitrogen load • dilution achieved by scale model • relative to baseline • mean value times a factor • 95th percentile (“appreciable”)
effluent monitoring • Contingency Plan thresholds • pathogen indicators, residual chlorine • total suspended solids, biochemical oxygen demand • toxicity testing, PCBs • flow, pH • nitrogen loading • other measurements: • numerous organic and inorganic contaminants
survey schedule
F26 watercolumnstations N04 N03 N02 N01 N15 N05 N14 42.6 N13 N16 N16 N12 N21 N06 N20 N17 N18 N11 N19 N07 N08 N09 N10 42.4 42.2 42.0 41.8 -71.0 -70.8 -70.6 -70.4 -70.2 -70.0 MWRA water column stations. water chemistry winter zooplankton chem + plankton outfall diffuser chem + plankton + productivity 40 meter depth contour
water column • Contingency Plan thresholds • dissolved oxygen, chlorophyll • nuisance and noxious algae, zooplankton • diffuser mixing • other measurements • temperature, salinity, light, water clarity, • solids, all nutrients, plankton • photosynthesis, respiration • remote sensing, moored instruments, and marine mammal observations • bacterial indicators, viruses
benthicstations(soft-bottom)
benthic monitoring • Contingency Plan thresholds: • community structure • sediment oxygen, and sediment toxic metal and organic chemicals • other measurements: • sediment bulk characteristics, chemistry, and tracers • nutrient and oxygen flux • rock/cobble communities
fish &shellfishstations
fish and shellfish monitoring • Contingency Plan thresholds • mercury, chlordane, dieldrin, DDTs, and PCBs in flounder, lobster, and mussels • lead and PAH in mussels • liver disease in flounder • other measurements: • age, physical abnormalities
“In the Massachusetts Bays system, which includes the Harbor, Massachusetts Bay, and Cape Cod Bay, I think we have one of the best environmental monitoring programs not only in the US but in the world” -Dr. Jerry Schubel, OMTF chair
Timely response to an exceedance Day 1 MWRA receives data indicating exceedance <90 days after sampling; <150 days for benthic diversity Day 5 Notify plant staff – adjust operations? Notify OMSAP. Day X OMSAP convenes • confirm exceedance • decide on need for increased study or attention Day 30 Warning Level exceedance • were there adverse impacts? • did MWRA contribute to such impacts? • MWRA prepares a response plan to address adverse impacts that it caused. • report every 30 days until exceedance is remedied. later MWRA reports responses in quarterly and annual reports.
Outfall Contingency Simulation(Red Tide threshold) • Caution Level: Alexandrium tamarense concentration (nearfield seasonal average) exceeds the 95th percentile of the baseline concentration (i.e. exceeds 0.3, 5, or 1 cells/L during winter-spring, summer, or fall, respectively).
Outfall Contingency Simulation(Red Tide schedule) Day 1 Sampling. Day 7 Exceedance noted. Confirmation split sent to WHOI. MWRA notified. MWRA notifies others. Day 9 MWRA, DMF, WHOI convene technical meeting. Day 13 OMSAP convenes; advises EPA and MADEP. Day 55 Summary appears in next quarterly Wastewater Performance Report. Day 226 Details appear in annual Outfall Monitoring Overview.
Warning Level exceedance:possible responses • tightened discharge limits • revise plant operational procedures • enhanced removal • enhanced pollution prevention • enhanced educational programs • alternate disinfection options • nitrogen removal • basin-wide nitrogen control • diversion of flow • other corrective actions to be tailored in a timely fashion
