For immediate release: January 25, 2006 CONTACT A Massachusetts administrative magistrate has issued a long-awaited decision on water withdrawal permits for the towns of Topsfield, Wenham and Hamilton in the Ipswich River basin. The magistrate, James Rooney, in a recommended final decision upheld water conservation measures imposed by the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) that will help restore the river’s streamflow and ecological integrity. Eleven towns appealed the new restrictions administratively and the decision on these three towns is the first to be issued. The cases will now go before DEP Commissioner Robert Golledge for his final decision; they are expected to be affirmed since it is the agency’s own conditions that were being challenged. Charles River Watershed Association’s (CRWA) counsel Margaret Van Deusen represented Ipswich River Watershed Association, Essex County Greenbelt Association and twelve concerned citizens who intervened in the towns’ challenges to their modified permits, arguing that DEP’s conditions are not strict enough given the dire condition of the river. In 2002, dirt bikes replaced canoes and kayaks on the river and massive fish kills occurred when flows hit a record low. Scientific studies have proven conclusively that Ipswich streamflows are reduced by an order of magnitude by water withdrawals. “The fate of the Charles is linked to the Ipswich. If we can’t get it right on the Ipswich, which is the poster child for poor water management, and begin to protect fisheries and habitat, it does not bode well the future of eastern Massachusetts rivers,” said Robert Zimmerman, CRWA Executive Director. Fifteen Charles River communities, whose permits are up for review, will be affected by the decision and Guidance issued by DEP last week that clarified its WMA Permitting Policy and prescribes conditions based on a basin’s level of stress. The Guidance gives communities several years to meet the conservation standards and two options for curbing nonessential outdoor water use in the summer months. The Charles is classified as medium stress although the headwaters and tributaries are in fact closer to highly stressed. “While towns are free to decide how they will meet the conditions, both the Guidance and the decisions in the Ipswich cases make it clear that DEP will no longer countenance the wasteful, or nonessential use of water, when streamflows are low and aquatic habitat is threatened,” said Van Deusen. “These conditions are important, achievable steps for protecting the long-term health, uses and enjoyment of our rivers and streams while at the same time safeguarding our drinking water supplies,” Van Deusen said. CRWA advocates water banking, which entails saving or keeping within the basin two gallons of water for every gallon of new demand, and the use of large-scale rainwater recovery systems to keep water local, offset increased water use, recharge groundwater stores, and provide water for lawn and landscape watering. ### Charles River Watershed Association’s mission is to use science, advocacy and the law to protect, preserve and enhance the Charles River and its watershed. One of our country’s first watershed organizations, CRWA formed in 1965 in response to public concern about the declining condition of the Charles River. Since its earliest days of advocacy, CRWA has figured prominently in major clean-up and watershed protection efforts that have dramatically improved the health of the Charles. |
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