Some say new state rules fall short in renewing a depleted Jones River
The Jones River provides a snapshot of the effect that water regulations have on a waterway's health - and the debate on whether enough is being done to protect area waterways.
The state's recent renewal of water rights lets Brockton continue pumping water from Silver Lake, one of the largest fresh-water lakes in the state, and the source of water for the Jones River, which runs through Kingston.
That pumping, environmentalists say, will be bad for the already-depleted river. Most of the fish that once made their home in the river are gone, and further pumping damages the river's ecosystem, said Pine duBois, executive director of the Jones River Watershed Association, a Kingston-based environmental organization.
But state officials say the new water regulations include conditions that will, in the long run, help the river by encouraging conservation.
"I don't dispute that," said Duane LeVangie, state water policy manager, of claims by the watershed association that pumping water from Silver Lake has been bad for the Jones River. However, LeVangie said, new conditions placed on the use - including outdoor watering bans triggered by droughts - "will drive them to use the water efficiently."
Given the city's need for drinking water, LeVangie said, not renewing its right to use Silver Lake was "not an option."
Low water levels in the Jones have drawn attention from Kingston officials. Last fall, the Kingston Water Department urged everyone in town to conserve water because of the low water level in the Jones River at the Elm Street dam.
"Whether you have a private well or are a customer of the municipal supply, it is important to save water," officials stated in a conservation advisory. "Pollutants are concentrated and oxygen levels in the water plummet during hot, dry weather - conditions that cause severe stress on aquatic organisms."
With a new water source for Brockton, Aquarion Water Co.'s desalination plant in Dighton, likely to come on line this year, the state has a good opportunity to wean Brockton from Silver lake, duBois said.
But Brian Creedon, Brockton's water system manager, said it was premature to consider how much water Aquarion would supply the city.
The state has requested a comprehensive water-management policy from the city, and Brockton has submitted that report, according to Creedon. The city has also invested money, fixed leaks, and expanded its use of water supplies other than Silver Lake in the last decade, he said.
"We have come light-years from where we were when we started in 1996" when the city formed its water commission, Creedon said. The city has reduced its average daily use by over 2 million gallons, from 11.3 million to 9.085 million, he said.
Brockton modified a dam and increased the capacity of a treatment plant, both expensive jobs, to gain more water from the city reservoir, which draws water from a different basin, reducing reliance on Silver Lake, Creedon said.
"The object of the water commission is to judiciously use our water sources in a balanced and appropriate way and we will continue to do that," Creedon said.
But the renewal of Brockton's right to use Silver Lake water at its current rate "abuses the rights and privileges of the public to have a river that is healthy," duBois said.
Conditions placed on renewal, such as meeting a standard of 65 gallons per capita per day, mean little given that Brockton is already down to 63 gallons a day, she said. "What good will that do us?"
Dating to the 1880s, Brockton's draw on the lake has resulted in a "permanent drought" in the Jones River's headwaters, she said.
Although she said the watershed group is sympathetic to Brockton's water needs and recognizes progress has been made, duBois urged the state to condition Brockton's use of Silver Lake on the level of the river, reducing pumping when it drops. That, she said, would help restore a permanent connection between the lake and the river.
"At one time, the Jones River supported vibrant herring, smelt, shad and American eel fisheries, in addition to having a strong presence of native brook trout," duBois wrote in her comment letter last month on the state's proposed rules for renewing water rights. "Now all these fish are imperiled in the Jones River and elsewhere."
Robert Knox can be contacted at rc.knox@gmail.com. 