Important Resources

Scroll down to see links to important resources

and to various state and local organizations aligned with TWI’s Mission

To protect and restore the estuaries in southeastern Massachusetts, we need to understand all the factors in each estuary that are causing the problem and then take measures to address them.

Estuaries are special bodies of water where the sea meets the mouth of a river or stream. They provide not only recreational opportunities but also important habitat for shellfish and sea grasses as well as breeding grounds for important marine fisheries. The 89 estuaries and embayments of southeastern Massachusetts stretch from Duxbury south and include Cape Cod, Buzzards Bay, the Islands, and Mt. Hope Bay. Protection of these coastal water resources has increasingly become a priority for Massachusetts oceanfront communities.

In 2001, the Massachusetts Estuaries Project (MEP) was created to help determine current nitrogen loads to southeastern Massachusetts estuaries and evaluate reductions that would be necessary to support healthy ecosystems. The MEP is a collaborative effort between MassDEP, UMass Dartmouth, and southern Massachusetts communities. MEP evaluations are used by MassDEP to develop Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs - See links below) for each estuary studied. TMDLs calculate the maximum amount of a pollutant (nitrogen for Tashmoo and the Lagoon) that a waterbody can assimilate and still support a healthy ecosystem.

To address nutrient loads in wastewater, the leading contributor, the Town of Tisbury has initiated the development of a Comprehensive Wastewater Management Plan (CWMP).