Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area - Water Quality (U.S. National Park Service)

A Water Resources Scoping Report was prepared by the National Park Service Water Resources Division in 2002 in order to assist the Boston Harbor Islands Partnership in identifying and understanding water-related issues relevant to the management of the national park area. It describes the hydrologic environment of the park and discusses water-related management issues. The report was accepted and the recommendations endorsed by unanimous vote of the Boston Harbor Islands Partnership on December 17, 2002.

» Water Resources Scoping Report: Boston Harbor Islands – A National Park Area, Massachusetts (Technical Report NPS/NRWRD/NRTR-2002/300).

The final section of the report (Considerations for Future Actions) provides the Boston Harbor Islands Partnership with suggestions for future action:

endorse and support Massachusetts Water Resources Authority’s (MWRA) harbor-wide water quality monitoring efforts and support collaboration with the pending NPS “vital signs” monitoring program;
endorse further erosion research and monitoring and the development of potential mitigation alternatives;
consider additional intertidal zone inventory and research activities;
enhance water and wastewater infrastructure planning;
continue Mass. Department of Conservation & Recreation recreational water quality monitoring within the Boston Harbor Islands national park area;
assess needs and establish priorities to complete necessary environmental audits;
endorse The Trustees Of Reservations wetlands restoration activities / support actions to identify other potential restoration activities;
enhance awareness of invasive species issues and concerns;
facilitate the exchange of additional sensitive resource information for incorporation into spill contingency planning activities;
commission a study to evaluate maintenance needs of sea walls and rip-rap and to determine the impact of these structures on geomorphic processes;
incorporate water-related recommendations into the Boston Harbor Islands national park area strategic plan.