Issues
Introduction
The
Ipswich River flows through 21 communities in northeastern
Massachusetts and supplies drinking water to more than 330,000
people. It frequently runs dry and experiences fish kills
during periods of peak summer demand, due to rapid suburban
sprawl that has increased water use and over-burdened streams
and aquifers in the watershed. Because of these stresses and
their effects on streamflow, especially baseflow, the Ipswich
River is recognized as one of the most endangered rivers in
the nation (American Rivers 2003), “highly stressed”
by the MA Water Resources Commission (2001) and “impaired”
under S. 303(d) of the Clean Water Act.
In
addition to streamflow problems, stormwater pollution is the
principal cause of shellfish bed closures and occasional beach
closures. The lower Ipswich River and Plum Island Sound are
listed as impaired due to pathogens on the 2002 Integrated
List of Waters, and the MA Department of Environmental Protection
has drafted a pathogen TMDL
for the Ipswich River.
Approximately
70 dams and more than 500 bridges and culverts in the watershed
further degrade habitat quality by altering natural flow patterns,
drowning critical riffle habitats, and creating impediments
to fish passage. The combined effect of extreme low flow conditions
and the impoundments of dams and poorly designed culverts
has been to transform the Ipswich River from a healthy, free-flowing
river to a series of stagnant ponds, particularly during low-flow
periods.
As
a result, the Ipswich River suffers from low dissolved oxygen
and unnaturally warm summertime temperatures. The river’s
native community of herring, shad, brook trout, and other
anadromous and fluvial dependent fish species has been nearly
extirpated, replaced by macrohabitat generalist fish species
adapted to ponded conditions (USGS
2001, Assessment of Habitat, Fish Communities, and Streamflow
Requirements for Habitat Protection, Ipswich River, Massachusetts,
1998-99).
Learn
about the issues that the Ipswich River faces:
Dams & Culverts
Fish & Aquatic Life
Land Use
Low Flows & Floods
Water Quality
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