{"id":23600,"date":"2020-05-22T13:00:36","date_gmt":"2020-05-22T17:00:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/?p=23600"},"modified":"2020-05-21T03:57:09","modified_gmt":"2020-05-21T07:57:09","slug":"state-prepares-water-systems-for-climate-change","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/2020\/05\/22\/state-prepares-water-systems-for-climate-change\/","title":{"rendered":"State Prepares Water Systems for Climate Change"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"100%\" height=\"300\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"no\" allow=\"autoplay\" src=\"https:\/\/w.soundcloud.com\/player\/?url=https%3A\/\/api.soundcloud.com\/tracks\/824972560&amp;color=%23ff5500&amp;auto_play=false&amp;hide_related=false&amp;show_comments=true&amp;show_user=true&amp;show_reposts=false&amp;show_teaser=true&amp;visual=true\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<div style=\"font-size: 10px; color: #cccccc; line-break: anywhere; word-break: normal; overflow: hidden; white-space: nowrap; text-overflow: ellipsis; font-family: Interstate,Lucida Grande,Lucida Sans Unicode,Lucida Sans,Garuda,Verdana,Tahoma,sans-serif; font-weight: 100;\"><\/div>\n<figure id=\"attachment23602\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment23602\" style=\"width: 646px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/wtbu\/files\/2020\/05\/Quabbin-2-636x424.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"636\" height=\"424\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-23602\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/files\/2020\/05\/Quabbin-2-636x424.jpg 636w, https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/files\/2020\/05\/Quabbin-2-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/files\/2020\/05\/Quabbin-2-1024x683.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 636px) 100vw, 636px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment23602\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Quabbin Reservoir is Massachusetts&#8217; largest water body, supplying water to 48 communities including Boston. Photo by Caitlin Faulds<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>State Prepares Water Systems for Climate Change<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>by Caitlin Faulds<\/p>\n<p>One of the cleanest urban water supplies in the nation might be under threat due to climate<br \/>\nchange, according to state water officials.<\/p>\n<p>More than three million people in the Boston area depend on the health of forests 65 miles away<br \/>\nto help filter their drinking water, according to the Massachusetts Water Resource Authority. But<br \/>\nas New England warms, changes to forest health and storm intensity could impact water quality.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019ve thought a lot about climate change over the years \u2013 how it affects the land, how it affects<br \/>\nthe water and what it means in terms of how the system will operate,\u201d says Stephen Estes-<br \/>\nSmargiassi, Director of Planning and Sustainability at MWRA.<\/p>\n<p>Boston water starts as rain or snow in the hills around the \u201cvery well protected\u201d Quabbin and<br \/>\nWachusett Reservoirs, Estes-Smargiassi says. Because the surrounding watershed area is<br \/>\nclear of any pollutants, he says water enters the reservoirs \u201ccrystal clear\u201d with low levels of<br \/>\nalgae-producing nutrients. The water is effectively filtered by the forest floor.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAll of this makes them safe to start with as source water and relatively easy to treat,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<p>The forests do this job of biofiltration so well that the Boston water system is one of the few in<br \/>\nthe country that doesn\u2019t rely on chemical filtration to meet state and federal standards, Estes-<br \/>\nSmargiassi says.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMost of what goes into having clean water at the tap is occurring out in the watershed using<br \/>\nMother Nature as our helper,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment23601\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment23601\" style=\"width: 646px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/wtbu\/files\/2020\/05\/Quabbin-1-636x424.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"636\" height=\"424\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-23601\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/files\/2020\/05\/Quabbin-1-636x424.jpg 636w, https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/files\/2020\/05\/Quabbin-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/files\/2020\/05\/Quabbin-1-1024x683.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 636px) 100vw, 636px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment23601\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A rain garden at the Quabbin Visitor Center helps to keep sediments and pollutants from entering the reservoir. Climate change could impact the filtration process. Photo by Caitlin Faulds<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>But as Mother Nature heats up, New England is already seeing more frequent and intense<br \/>\nstorms, according to Maria Janowiak of the Northern Institute of Applied Climate Science. While<br \/>\nthis might actually increase the amount of water in the area, she says it can be bad for water<br \/>\nquality.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn the forest, it can cause a lot of what\u2019s called overland flow because the ground can\u2019t soak up<br \/>\nall the water,\u201d Janowiak says.<\/p>\n<p>Instead, the water heads down fast and unfiltered, straight into the reservoirs, she says. This<br \/>\nmeans that there is less time for the pollutants to filter out.<\/p>\n<p>This unexpected overland flow can also cause erosion and lead to road and culvert washouts,<br \/>\nentering more sediments and contaminants into the system, according to Janowiak.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere are hazards to water quality that people are definitely looking at,\u201d Janowiak says.<\/p>\n<p>MWRA is already limiting runoff and erosion from roads and subdivisions and making<br \/>\npreparations for stronger storms in the future, Estes-Smargiassi says. They\u2019ve limited<br \/>\ndevelopment around the Quabbin, conserving 85% of the land around the reservoir with help<br \/>\nfrom the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBy maintaining it in its pristine, undeveloped state, it allows it to be much more resilient to<br \/>\nclimate change,\u201d Estes-Smargiassi says.<\/p>\n<p>Promoting a diverse, adaptable forest with a variety of tree and plant species is also essential,<br \/>\nhe says. Healthy forests can absorb more water, he says, potentially adjusting for heavier<br \/>\nrainstorms.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou want to have some older trees and some younger trees,\u201d he says. \u201cYou want a mixture so<br \/>\nthat the forest is resilient.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>MWRA also monitors the reservoirs themselves to ensure water quality.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOne of the things that we do pay attention to is birds,\u201d he says. They run a \u201cgull harassment<br \/>\nprogram\u201d \u2013 in which no birds harmed, just disrupted by a boat and encouraged to leave for the<br \/>\nnight \u2013 to prevent bird droppings from dirtying the clean water.<\/p>\n<p>They also track invasive species, algae types, plants and bugs in the area, according to Estes-<br \/>\nSmargiassi, and they use buoys help to monitor all aspects of watershed health.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat you need to do is to stay on top of it, develop that long term record of data so that you<br \/>\ncan see where things are changing and understand what implications it may have,\u201d Estes-<br \/>\nSmargiassi says.<\/p>\n<p>Going forward, Estes-Smargiassi says he expects to see some changes to Massachusetts\u2019<br \/>\nwater systems, but he feels MWRA is prepared.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot saying we\u2019re ignoring it, but the alarm bells are not going off at this point,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment23603\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment23603\" style=\"width: 646px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/wtbu\/files\/2020\/05\/Quabbin-3-636x424.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"636\" height=\"424\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-23603\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/files\/2020\/05\/Quabbin-3-636x424.jpg 636w, https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/files\/2020\/05\/Quabbin-3-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/files\/2020\/05\/Quabbin-3-1024x683.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 636px) 100vw, 636px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment23603\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Snow falls over the Quabbin Reservoir in central Massachusetts. Winsor Dam helps to hold back 412 billion gallons of water. Photo by Caitlin Faulds<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>But there are a few ways that Boston residents can help keep their water safe, he says. Estes-<br \/>\nSmargiassi encourages people to pay attention to the taste and smell of their tap water and alert<br \/>\nMWRA if any changes are noticed. He also advises residents to conserve water wherever<br \/>\npossible and prioritize environmental policies in politics.<\/p>\n<p>But one of the most important things, he says, is to visit the Quabbin to see where Boston water<br \/>\nstarts its journey.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe things we do in our daily life,\u201d he says, \u201care connected to that larger environmental issue.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>State Prepares Water Systems for Climate Change by Caitlin Faulds One of the cleanest urban water supplies in the nation might be under threat due to climate change, according to state water officials. More than three million people in the Boston area depend on the health of forests 65 miles away to help filter their [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17683,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1599,14],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23600"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17683"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23600"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23600\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23605,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23600\/revisions\/23605"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23600"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23600"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23600"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}