Blackstone River Watershed Association
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TIP OF THE MONTH
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Use pesticides and fertilizers sparingly in the lawn and garden.
If
you use too much pesticide or fertilizer or apply it at the wrong time (like just before a heavy rain),
it can easily wash off your lawn or garden into storm drains and then
flow into lakes or streams.
For more ways to "green up" your yard, attend Organic Lawns: Help Your Lawn Go "Green", the first event in our Coffee & Conservation series.
More information on how homeowners can help protect water quality in the Watershed can be found here.
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BRWA NEWS |
Bring your Friends! Bring Your Neighbors! Coffee & Conservation
Reminder:
We will host our first Coffee & Conservation event on Saturday
April 17th, 9:00 to 11:00 AM at the Riverbend Farm Visitors Center. The
topic will be Organic Lawns: Help Your Lawn Go "Green".
Landscaper Dan Faulkenham will share his knowledge of how to have a
beautiful yard without using chemicals that may harm children, pets and
our environment. Topics covered include soils, nontoxic pest controls,
insect control, and turf grass establishment and maintenance. Please
RSVP by e-mail info@thebrwa.org or call 508-278-5200 if you can join us.
34th Annual Blackstone River Watershed Association Canoe and Kayak Race
The
Blackstone River Watershed Association will hold its 34th annual canoe
and kayak race on Saturday, May 15, 2010. This years 12 mile event will
start in South Grafton, MA across from the Fisherville Mill at 53 Main
Street (Rt 122A). The race will end at the RiverBend Farm Visitor
Center, Blackstone River and Canal Visitor Center, in Uxbridge, MA.
After the race there will be food, music, an award ceremony as well as
other family activities. For more information or to participate as a
racer or volunteer please contact Rosemary Longo-Nutt at roseisarose@hotmail.com or go to http://www.thebrwa.org
Volunteers needed for our Volunteer Water Quality Monitoring Program
We
are looking for a volunteer to sample Emerson Brook in Uxbridge.
Sampling is conducted on the second Saturday of the Month from April to
November. Volunteers are trained to test for dissolved oxygen at the
site and record physical observations. Then volunteers take a sample to
Tri River in Uxbridge, where it is tested for nutrients, conductivity
and turbidity. Samples need to arrive at Tri River between 9:00 am and
12:00 pm on the Saturday of testing. If you are interested contact
Tammy Gilpatrick, 508-579-4597 or brcoalition@yahoo.com for more information.
2010 Membership Campaign - Join or Renew Now!
Don't forget to join or renew your membership to the BRWA. All
donations received are invested in programs focused on protecting and
restoring the Blackstone River and its tributaries.
Become a member online using Paypal
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CALENDAR OF EVENTS |
4/17
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Coffee & Conservation - 9:00 AM @ Riverbend Farm Organic Lawns: Help Your Lawn Go "Green" RSVP
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4/22
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Earth Day
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4/24
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BRWA Earth Day River Cleanup volunteer
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4/17-4/25
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National Park Week info
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5/8
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BRC Water Quality Sampling
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5/13
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BRWA Board Meeting
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5/15
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34th BRWA Canoe and Kayak Race info
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IN YOUR COMMUNITY
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BRWA Supports New EPA Stormwater Permit Designed to Improve Water Quality in Eastern Massachusetts
In
January of 2010, the EPA issued a draft permit entitled North
Coastal Small Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) General
Permit. This permit is primarily targeting watersheds of north
coastal Massachusetts but the Blackstone River Watershed communities of
Mendon and Hopedale are also impacted. The BRWA sent a letter
supporting the issuance of this permit, appealing for assistance to
help towns meet its requirements and pledging to provide needed
outreach resources to the affected communities.
By building upon the stormwater management programs started in the
previous 2003 permit, the 2010 draft is intended to further mitigate
the negative effects of past stormwater management and development
practices. These effects include:
- elevated levels of nutrients, disease-causing bacteria and other pollutants in rivers & streams
- inadequate recharge of surface and groundwater
- flooding and erosion
To accomplish these goals, the new draft permit would require communities to:
- remove illegal sewage connections to storm drains
- increase street sweeping
- educate the public about stormwater issues
- expand stormwater infiltration rather than diversion into sewer systems
- encourage low impact development and green infrastructure techniques
- monitor stormwater discharges
- implement approved watershed restoration plans
The BRWA has an ongoing involvement in analyzing and drawing
attention to the negative effects of improper stormwater management by
providing outreach & education to residents, businesses and farms
in the watershed, organizing Stream Team Surveys along the Blackstone
and its tributaries and participating in the BRC Water Quality
Monitoring program.
To view the draft permit or for more information, click here.
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Updated Bottle Bill Stalled
According to a recent MassDEP study,
beverage containers comprised up to 60 percent of all litter collected
at community cleanup events. Independent of alcoholic beverage
containers left behind at party sites, non-deposit containers
outnumbered deposit containers three to one. The current Bottle Bill
does not include these non-deposit containers which now represent
approximately 30% of containers sold in Massachusetts.
The
Updated Bottle Bill seeks to extend the scope of the original
legislation to include water, juice, energy drink and sport drink
bottles and thereby reduce their contribution to litter and to the
solid waste stream.
Currently the Updated Bottle Bill, HB3515/SB1480, is stalled in the legislature. MassPIRG is asking citizens to contact their representatives to push for prompt passage of the bill.
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Your input is crucial to this eNewsletter. If you have a local
watershed-related story, information of interest to our subscribers, or
comments about this publication, drop an email to the editor.
The
BRWA eNewsletter is published monthly by the Blackstone River Watershed
Association. BRWA is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.
Editor: Michael Sperry mikes_brwa@comcast.net
Mailing address: BRWA, 271 Oak Street Uxbridge, MA 01569
Phone: 508-278-5200 Web: www.thebrwa.org
Click here for back issues.
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