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The Boston Harbor Story:
Applying Earth Science to issues of immediate public concern
Boston Harbor Aerial Photo

INTRODUCTION

Boston Harbor, once one of the most polluted waterways in the nation, is in the final stages of a major cleanup. For 300 years, the harbor was the waste disposal site for a growing metropolitan center. By the 1980's, harbor fish were diseased, shellfish beds were closed, and swimming beaches were periodically unsafe. A $3.5 billion cleanup program, begun in 1985 by the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA), has significantly improved the environmental quality of the harbor. Since 1989, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) has been conducting research to understand and predict the fate of contaminants introduced to Massachusetts' coastal waters.

Relocating the sewage outfall from the Harbor mouth to a new location 9 miles offshore in Massachusetts Bay has been a controversial step in the clean-up program. Computer simulations of ocean circulation and dilution of sewage effluent show that, with the new outfall location, water quality will greatly improve in Boston Harbor without significantly degrading conditions in Massachusetts Bay, in Cape Cod Bay, or in the rich biological habitat of the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary.

Introduction Regional Overview Mapping the Seafloor Harbor Sediments Contaminated Sediment Data
Tracking Pollution Storms and Sediments Circulation Models Stellwagen Bank Credits

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Updated: 11 September 2000