The flood-control chutes have a commanding presence at the confluence of the north and south branches of the Hoosic, just below the Massahcusetts Museum of Contemporary Art in North Adams. (Photo by Glenn Drohan)
Editor’s note: This is the fifth in a series of articles about the Hoosic River, in conjunction with the second annual “Hoosic Moments†writing contest. Contest details below.
Assessing the quality of the Hoosic River is a challenging project that has been a primary focus of the Hoosic River Watershed Association for the past several years.
The Hoosic has been designated a Class B inland waterway, implying that it should be suitable for fish and aquatic life habitation and for recreation (fishing, swimming and boating), but some reaches do not yet support these uses fully, and many of its tributaries are unassessed.
The Hoosic is cleaner today than it has been since the early 20th century, when it supported industrial production. Historically, contamination of the river came from industrial outflows called point sources. Today’s threats stem from non-point sources: urban, domestic and agricultural runoff. Contaminants are carried by storm-water runoff as its makes it way across fields, paved surfaces and lawns into the river ways.
The goals of HooRWA’s monitoring program are to establish baseline conditions, monitor changes and evaluate the quality of the water. Annually, HooRWA staff and volunteers collect water samples throughout the watershed and test acidity, temperature, dissolved oxygen, nitrogen nitrates, turbidity, total suspended solids, bacteria and conductivity. While we don’t have sufficient data to develop a complete picture, some areas of concern have been identified.
The flood-control chutes and rip-rapped areas constructed in the 1950s to provide flood protection in Adams and North Adams have negatively affected fish habitat and can dangerously raise water temperatures. Trout in these areas require cool water for survival, but temperatures here can — and do — rise above potentially lethal thresholds.
PCB contamination has decreased, due to industry shutdowns and remedial efforts. PCB levels in the Hoosic are the subject of a recent study by a Williams College student, Elaine Denny. Her preliminary results show that PCBs in the riverbanks from North Adams to North Pownal, Vt., are well below danger-threshold levels. It is too early to tell whether the advisory against eating fish caught in the river should be lifted. Most fishermen practice catch and release in areas below the confluence of the north and south branches in North Adams.
In other areas of the watershed, bacteria levels are higher than recommended thresholds. Potential sources of bacteria include malfunctioning or poorly designed septic systems and livestock and other animal waste washed into the river during rainstorms. Historically, there have been several trouble spots along the Green River, but recent farm closings and improvements to residential septic systems have ameliorated the situation. In other areas, the source of the contamination is still unknown.
Garbage thrown into the river both contributes contaminants and reduces the aesthetic value of the river. In the past year alone, clean-up teams have removed more than three truckloads of waste – shopping carts, televisions, plastic bags, broken chairs, even an old milk truck that had been in the river nearly 50 years.
HooRWA continues to investigate human and industrial impacts on the river; to establish baseline conditions prior to the construction of a wastewater treatment plant in Pownal, to get closer to identifying the non-point sources of contaminants and to reach farther downstream – to the Walloomsac, Little Hoosic, and the Hoosic, as it spills into the Hudson.
What can you do? If you live near the river, allow natural vegetation to grow along the banks to provide shading and cooling. Don’t throw yard waste in the river. It contributes to the reduction of the dissolved oxygen fish need to breath. Reduce the use of pesticides and fertilizers; keep your septic systems well maintained; work with your local public works department to ensure that storm sewers are well maintained and appropriate land use practices are employed. Most importantly, enjoy the river’s natural beauty.
So, should we swim in it? With caution, areas where towns monitor bacteria levels are recommended. Can we eat the fish? Further investigation is required to evaluate level of PCB contamination. Should we be doing something? Yes.
If you would like more information about our monitoring program, please visit our Web site or contact us. Please join us at our annual State of the River Conference in the near future, at which these issues will be discussed in more depth.
Stephanie Boyd is a member of the HooRWA board of directors and a management consultant for the association.
CONTEST DETAILS: The Hoosic Moments writing contest, sponsored by the Massachusetts Environmental Trust, Hoosic River Watershed Association, The Advocate and Inkberry, seeks submissions from students in two categories: Creative Nonfiction and Poetry. Over $600 in cash and prizes will be distributed in the junior (grades seven to nine) and senior (grades 10 to 12) age groups, and winners will be invited to read their work at a public event this spring. Writing submissions are due by March 1. For complete contest rules, e-mail hoorwa@berkshire.net, visit www.hoorwa.org or call 413-458-2742.
If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.
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BRTA Focuses on a New Run Schedule
By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Berkshire Regional Transit Authority is still working on maintaining its run schedules after dropping the route realignment proposal.
Last Thursday's meeting was Administrator Kathleen Lambert's first official meeting taking over the reins; retiring director Robert Malnati stayed during a transition period that ended last month.
Lambert is trying to create a schedule that will lessen cancellations. There was a two-hour meeting the week before with the drivers union to negotiate run bids and Lambert is working with the new operating company Keolis, which is taking over from Transdev.
The board spoke about anonymous emails from drivers, which Lambert said she has not seen. iBerkshires was not able to see those letters, but has received some.
"They were lengthy emails from someone describing themselves as concerning BRTA employee, and there was a signed letter from a whole group of employees basically stating their concerns. So, you know, to me, it was a set of whistleblowers, and that, what my understanding is that this really triggers a need for some type of process to review the merits of these whistleblowers, not going to call them accusations, but basically expressions of concern," said member Stephen Bannon.
A letter iBerkshires received spoke of unhappy drivers who were considering quitting because of decisions being made without "input from frontline staff," frustration and falling morale, and the removal of the former general manager shortly after Lambert came in.
Lambert said it's difficult to navigate a new change. She also noted many drivers don't want to do Saturday runs and it has been hard negotiating with drivers on the new runs.
"I would like you all to keep in mind that the process of change is super difficult. Transdev has been here for 20 years, and some of these drivers have never known any other operating company, the way some of the operations have been handled has been archaic," she said. "So getting folks up to speed on how a modern transit system works is going to be painful for them. So I don't want to say that I'm unsympathetic, because I am sympathetic, but I am trying to coax people along with a system that's going to seem very strange to them."
The board spoke about better communication between them and Lambert, citing cooperation will be best moving forward.
"There's just a lot of stuff in the air right now, and there are a lot of fires to put out to make this a coordinated effort. And if we don't keep our communications open and be straightforward, then you get blindsided about how you know the input that you could get from us about your position, and how you know what's going on in your direction, and we get blindsided. And I think that we have to make sure that this is a collaboration," said member Sherry Youngkin.
"Both sides have responsibilities, because in the long run, this advisory board is going to have to make decisions as to how we brought forward and if we've gone forward in a fair and helpful way. And I think that's hopefully what everybody is looking for also."
Transdev and Keolis held a three-day recruiting event interviewing almost 40 candidates and offering jobs to eight, but only three stayed on to start training. Lambert said it was disappointing but she will keep trying to retain more people.
In her first report to the board, she noted that ridership dipped a little over 10 percent, but still remains higher than last year, adding that was because of cancellations of services because of the lack of drivers.
Like the last meeting, some of the advisory board members were torn over the start of the Link413 service, worried that the start of the service took drivers away and the numbers of riders are low.
Lambert, however, said the ridership has doubled from last month.
"As I've spoken before, we have, generally, a six-month adoption for brand-new service before you can really go in and evaluate, are you being successful based on the grant that my predecessor wrote along with the team for PBTA and RTA, we are ahead of schedule, which is pretty good, so I'm hoping that will continue to improve," she said.
Member Renee Wood said the board never approved the service, adding the only thing she could find in the minutes was a vote to accept the equipment. She said it was supposed to be put on the agenda to discuss.
"The Link413 service has been three years in the making. It's been a grant that was accepted and has been working with our partners, PVTA and FRTA, to put into place. So I don't have the entire history of how that process worked, but it's been three years in the making, and did we not understand that once we accept that grant that we were going to put in new service?" Lambert said.
The board discussed if Title VI, the Civil Rights Act, was followed with an accurate review and accurate amount of time for public comment period on the service changes and if its attorney should review if the grant conditions were properly followed.
Lambert said changes had the 60-day comment period included in the proposed route realignment packet, giving the opportunity for the community to respond to that as well but will look into the legality of the situation with their attorney.
Qwanell Bradley scored 33 points, and Adan Wicks added 29 as the Hoosac Valley boys basketball team won a Division 5 State Championship on Sunday. click for more
Adan Wicks scored 38 points, and the eighth-seeded Hoosac Valley basketball team Saturday rallied from a nine-point first-half deficit to earn a 76-67 win over top-seeded Drury in the Division 5 State Quarter-Finals. click for more
Caprese Conyers scored 22 points, and Kyana Summers had a double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds to go with eight assists as Pittsfield got back to the state semi-finals for the second year in a row. click for more
