Five grants totaling $873,637 were recently awarded by the Buzzards Bay National Estuary Program through the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management to treat stormwater discharges, evaluate wastewater treatment plant discharge capacity, and protect critical habitat in the Buzzards Bay watershed.

The following municipalities were awarded grants:

The town of Bourne will receive $375,000 to build a stormwater treatment system to address contaminated runoff from a parking lot at Queen Sewell Pond beach and to design additional stormwater treatment systems for another outfall near the beach at Bayberry Road. Queen Sewell Pond has been prone to bacteria and nutrient contamination, resulting in harmful algae blooms and beach closures. The proposed project will capture and treat the stormwater runoff before it enters the pond.

The towns of Carver and Wareham will each receive $75,000 to work with the Buzzards Bay Coalition to permanently protect 522 acres in Carver and 215 acres in Wareham. Acquisition of these lands will protect forested uplands, cranberry bogs, and wetlands and will contribute to a growing greenway corridor along the Weweantic River. The Buzzards Bay Coalition will acquire and own the land, and both municipal conservation commissions will hold conservation restrictions in their respective towns. The lands will be used for conservation, restoration, public education, and recreation.

The town of Wareham will receive $98,637 to evaluate planned increased wastewater flows from the town’s Water Pollution Control Facility. The purpose of the study is to determine if the existing outfall location can accept increased flows from the planned sewer expansion with additional levels of treatment without degrading water quality. The study will also evaluate the benefits of moving the outfall location to other sites.

The city of New Bedford will receive $250,000 to design and permit green infrastructure stormwater treatment solutions at three sites within the Buttonwood Park Zoo. Stormwater runoff from animal enclosures now discharge high levels of bacteria, sediment, and nutrients into Buttonwood Brook. The new stormwater treatment systems will replicate natural processes to trap and filter stormwater prior to reaching local waterbodies to reduce pollutant loads and improve water quality and habitat in the brook and downstream in Apponagansett Bay.