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Boston Harbor and Massachusetts Bay
MWRA Environmental Quality Department

Harbor and Bay Monitoring

MWRA monitors the health of Massachusetts Bay, where treated wastewater from 43 communities is discharged through a 9.5-mile outfall tunnel. The water quality of Boston Harbor is also analyzed and its recovery is documented since wastewater discharges into the Harbor ceased in 2000. (See the What's New page for the latest Harbor and Bay water quality reports).


Link to Massachusetts Bay page

MASSACHUSETTS BAY

Locations: Massachusetts and Cape Cod bays.

Measured: Nutrients, organic material, toxic contaminants, pathogens, and solids.

Goals: Required by the NPDES discharge permit to assess the impacts of MWRA sewer system and treatment plant discharges on Massachusetts and Cape Cod bays.

Link to Boston Harbor and Rivers page

BOSTON HARBOR & TRIBUTARY RIVERS


Locations: Quincy, Hingham, and Dorchester Bays; Charles, Neponset, & Mystic River/Alewife Brook. Harbor Beaches.

Measured: Nutrients, pathogens, dissolved oxygen, temperature, & water clarity in the harbor.

Goals: Assess CSO impacts on affected water bodies and track environmental effects of pollution reduction efforts.

Link to NPDES Discharge Permit Page

NPDES DISCHARGE MONITORING

Locations: MWRA's discharge permit requires monitoring of effluent from the Deer Island Treatment Plant and several CSO treatment facilities in the Boston area.

Measured: Nutrients, pathogens, metals, organics, solids, pH, oil and grease and toxicity.

Goals: Comply with the Clean Water Act, control water pollution from discharge of treated sewage.

Link to Technical Reports List

TECHNICAL REPORT PRODUCTION
To provide the latest monitoring results to the public and overseers, all monitoring results are written up, summarized, and analyzed in printed and online technical reports. Some of these data include Bay bacteria, treatment plant performance, and monitoring data on the harbor and bay.