Bellingham gets stormwater grant from state

By Joe O'Connell

Milford Daily News, Tuesday, August 3, 2010

BELLINGHAM - The state Department of Environmental Protection has awarded the town $45,090 to assess the quality of water flowing into the Charles River inside the town and produce a plan to improve it.

Bellingham's project was included with five other watershed water-quality projects throughout the state. They are being funded under the U.S. Clean Water Act, totaling $278,713.

The Bellingham project, which the Charles River Watershed Association will oversee, will look at non-point source pollution problems from stormwater runoff in a part of town that falls within the confines of the Charles River watershed.

Non-point source pollution is caused by sources that are not regulated, usually associated with precipitation and stormwater runoff from land.

"We are trying to be in a better position to enhance stormwater runoff," said Department of Public Works Director Donald DiMartino. "Stormwater runoff is causing significant issues for the river."

The Watershed Association will first pick a small area in town where stormwater drains into the Charles River. The area has not been selected, but association Director of Projects Kate Bowditch said it could be about 1/2 square mile.

"We are very excited," said Bowditch. "We really see the project as an opportunity to work closely with town officials and interested residents to better understand the restoration process."

Data collected could lead to possible designs for restoring the water quality in the river, as well as the most beneficial and cost-effective ways to reduce pollution in the Charles, such as using rain gardens instead of catch basins to collect stormwater runoff.

Bowditch said the project will also look at the existing drainage system to find any areas for improvement, which could eventually mean the use of green infrastructure that would make rain flow through the ground before it gets into the river instead of rainwater traveling over catch basins.

The area selected will be a part of Bellingham that has mixed uses, such as residential and commercial properties.

"This is sort of a pilot system where we are going to see what we can do in a small area and hopefully expand that to a larger area," said DiMartino.

The project is expected to take about a year and work is slated to begin in the fall.

Once the project is completed, the association will present the town with a plan and suggestions to decrease stormwater runoff pollution. There is no money in the grant for construction.

Bowditch said the project will also help the town better understand what will need to be done for the new stormwater runoff regulations that the Environmental Protection Agency seeks to implement.

A new stormwater regulation would require the town and some businesses to reduce phosphorous levels in stormwater flowing into the Charles.

"As a community along the Charles River, this grant comes at very critical time for Bellingham," said state Rep. Jennifer Callahan, D-Sutton, in a statement. "Because of potential changes in stormwater runoff regulations, this funding will be instrumental in understanding how the community can develop an effective plan for addressing this type of pollution."

Since 1998, the Department of Environmental Protection has funded 67 projects under the United States Clean Water Act totaling $3.2 million.

Bellingham recently failed in its joint effort with Milford and Franklin to get a grant from the EPA to study the possibility of creating a utility company to manage the stormwater systems that would be required to deal with the new regulations being placed on the three towns.

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