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A blooming shame: Tests confirm Jamaica Pond water not safe for man nor beast

The Boston Public Health Commission reports that water samples taken Monday from Jamaica Pond show blue-green algae counts are higher than the amount allowed for water activities by people and pets.

The results of this sampling indicate that algae levels exceed the state-established 70,000 cells/milliliter. Specifically, testing by a MassDEP biologist on July 20th has confirmed the presence of up to 81,576 cells/mL at this location, above the recommended limit of 70,000 cells/mL established by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. A separate analysis from DPH confirmed cell counts above the threshold.

The commission, which ordered the pond shut to boating and fishing on Monday, adds:

The Boston Public Health Commission will continue to review state sampling results for the presence of a visible algae bloom in Jamaica Pond over the coming weeks. Water sampling will occur at least weekly while ​the algae bloom persists, and for several weeks after it is no longer visible. DPH recommends that the recreational water advisory not be lifted until two consecutive weekly samples show algal cell counts below the safe limit of 70,000 cells/milliliter of water.​​​​​​​

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Comments

People swimming in Turtels Pond lately.

If Jamaica Pond is unsafe I can only imagine how bad TP is.

Shit there's a car and few stolen mopeds in the water.

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Jamaica Pond has plenty of sources of nitrogen, i.e., fertilizer. Turtle Pond is surrounded by forest.

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Of dog poop and probably some human.

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First off, I imagine Jamaica Pond gets waaaay more dog (and human) excreta than Turtle Pond.

But even aside from that, excreta from omni/carnivores like us and our canine pals has much lower concentrations of nitrogen than your typical lawn/veg fertilizer - about 3-7g/L. And that nitrogen is not as immediately available as many forms of commerical fertilizer.

Urea from birds is a far more soluble and immediately bio-available source of N, and yet I've never heard any claims that bird droppings are implicated in these blooms.

I doubt that Rover (or Ralph) peeing in the pond is the source of the algae problem.

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Laundry detergent and lawn runoff = blooms

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..septic systems?

I assume you are familiar with the contents of septic systems... right?

How could you miss that bit of lore you so avidly lord over?

J Pond is essentially a basin. When you have really large build ups of dog and goose crap on top of lawn vanity stuff and day-lighted laundry effluent, wouldn't you have the equivalent of a crap Long Island Iced Tea?

The official summaries reference septic systems.

What is a years worth of gradually decaying crap, if not "septic material". We're talking quantity here.

Good thing we have the boldly assertive data proctors at good old U Hub or I'd never learn anything.

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Where, exactly, are the septic systems around Jamaica Pond?

I thought the only part of the city without working sewers was the Grove in West Roxbury, nowhere near Jamaica Pond. The BPHC statement doesn't even reference septic systems.

Since you're clearly far, far more knowledgeable about this shit than the rest of us, I'd love some elucidation.

Thanks!

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It's the contents... it's basically crap in a concrete cylinder with a leach field for water.

The basin around J Pond is a crap load going back to winter, A friend of mine checks it regularly as part of his rounds along the Muddy Watershed and he mentioned how the crap load this year is unusually bad from desperate winter mutt walkers and related despair.

He watched it. He's like a funny Muddy River steward and kept me up on the complex mixed duck flocks huddled in some open water in February. There was even a wood duck. Damn they are fast and make cool whistle noises. It's kinda funny to spot my first one in the Muddy.

And then you have the geese. Now imagine how the last few storm fronts we've seen have been all day soakers with constant run off of everything.

Ordinary crap loads would probably be less likely but when you add all of this up it's a lot.

Where would laundry effluent come from? What kind of fertilizer loading is going on for lawn fetishes in the drainage basin?

I'm a total amateur too and not very significant. I'm just reading the stuff and comparing it against what I know of the place going back to the mid 70s.

If the official summaries on problem sources reference a septic system, they are referencing crap. It just isn't in a "system" in Jamaica Pond other than the natural drainage system and it's broader ecosystem..

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Rather than referring to septic systems spilling into the pond?

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The State of Washington, bless them, seems to have a wealth of information for us.

They have a page given to this particular form of algae.

Lake restoration and management for algae

Every lake is unique. Specific strategies to address a lake's nutrient enrichment problems must focus on activities in the watershed and, if needed, in-lake restoration techniques. Lake management approaches fall into two categories, the "quick-fix" and long-term management. The quick-fix offers a short-term solution such as the application of algaecides to kill unwanted algae. This approach treats the biological symptoms of a lake problem but does not address the underlying causes of these symptoms.

Long-term management considers the environmental, cultural, and biological factors affecting the lake and sets a priority on finding lasting solutions. Lake management is complicated and requires a coordinated effort of community groups, individuals, landowners, and government. To be effective, lake managers must commit to long-term strategies and investment.

The role of nutrients

Phosphorus generally limits the growth of freshwater algae in most Washington lakes, although nitrogen is also an important nutrient. When phosphorus is the limiting nutrient, there is a direct relationship between the amount of phosphorus in a lake and the amount of algae growing in the lake. As phosphorus levels increase, the amount of algae increases too. At very high levels of phosphorus, other nutrients or light may limit the growth of algae. Long-term management of excessive algae requires the removal of phosphorus sources to the water body. Reducing phosphorus inputs to lakes can affect the amount of algae in the lake by removing a key nutrient.

Reducing external nutrient sources

External nutrient sources such as fertilizer use, pet wastes, stormwater runoff, septic system effluents, waterfowl, agriculture, and even rainfall can contribute nutrients to a lake. Lake management removes or modifies as many of these nutrient sources as possible, especially those sources shown to be contributing the greatest nutrient load to the water body. If in-lake restoration techniques are necessary, they should be followed by, or occur simultaneously with appropriate long-term management actions to control sediments, nutrients, and toxic inputs. A successful lake restoration program should strive to manage both external and internal nutrient sources.

In-lake restoration techniques

Controlling nutrient sources will not improve lake water quality immediately in many cases. Years may pass before lakes cleanse themselves of accumulated nutrient loads. For this reason, in-lake restoration techniques have been developed to accelerate recovery. These techniques may not be suitable for all lakes and all conditions. Consider using these techniques only after a lake specialist has evaluated the lake and recommended one or more of these options.

http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/wq/plants/algae/lakes/LakeRestoration.html

That's the gist. It's the phosphorus, not the nitrogen. So we have at least gotten our culprits straight.

And you start by identifying the sources rather than speculating. Source reduction is the best working game plan for many of these things.

But, according to Washington, restoration is a long haul process. The place may have crashed.

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It's out of Wisconsin but makes extensive reference to Jamaica Pond as a study focus.

http://images.library.wisc.edu/WI/EFacs/transactions/WT1904/reference/wi...

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The fact of the observation of these blooms going back to 1884, decades before the invention of artificial nitrogen fertilizer (and further decades before its use on the lawn), seems to discount the idea that the bloom has been wholly caused by a human activity in the area not present at the time of its first observation. It further suggests that a complete cessation of all twentieth-century type activity (e.g. lawn fertilizer, copious dog shit production) would not eradicate it. However, it does mention that the bloom was beaten back in 1903 by an application of copper sulfate. Experts, is there a reason this shouldn't be tried today?

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So it shouldn't be seen as definitive. There was also plenty of nutrient material from the horses, everyone used to get around.

The more recent research like the remediation guidelines from the state of Washington warn against this because the dying algae cells impart their toxins to the water in general.

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If this were a poop problem, the e-coli would be elevated, too.

As far as I can tell, it is not.

Lawn runoff and field runoff will cause algae blooms in the absence of high e-coli.

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Or something just so you get some nuance.

Sludge Sinks and Scum Floats.

So you skim the scum and dredge the sludge.

Much of this turns on understanding the drain grade. It's an eyeglaze subject but I learned a lot about it doing construction in Seattle where water drainage is a much more important problem than here.

Does Jamaica Pond have any storm drain runoff outlets? The Mystic has a bunch of them in Medford and the DCR tags them with little signs.

Along the Charles, Newton seems to be the main mess culprit. I noticed laundry runoff, road sand bars and a strange pump discharge in Auburndale that belches reddish scale colored water into the river. It looks like the rust colored stuff they blow out of fire Hydrants.

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I don't know anything about water quality, I'm just a long-time volunteer and serve on committees for the local watershed association, and network with riverkeepers throughout the country.

Thanks so much for Trollsplaining that to me.

Honey, this is lawn runoff. No septic near Jamaica Pond. Maybe some leaky pipes, but I really doubt it. Goose shit, maybe ... but far more likely runoff. Look up the basic biology of blue green algae. http://www.lawntolake.org/phos.htm

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I made a video set of that watershed as far as Winchester in 2013. My mother was born on Manning Street. I have a photo of me in my Easter finery from 1958 in the driveway.

I'll probably get back to video the Aberjona until it becomes a wetland in Woburn later this year as it's an easy video run. I also need to explore the Winchester part of the Shepherd Brooks Estate soon as it's easy.

Today I got lost in Wenham covering the Wenham Canal. Saw another eagle.

Getting back to Jamaica Pond.

Here's our map url: https://goo.gl/maps/d68g6

From checking the satellite imagery, we can see that the pond has forest buffers along at least 2/3rds of it.

So that leaves us with a Chemlawn zone of around a third, between Lochstead Ave on the ENE side and to maybe Eliot Street where Pond veers off on the ESE.

So our lawn runoff frontage is okay but what is the load? The other potential nutrients are all around the place. I wonder if anyone around there daylights gray water from washing machines?

I wouldn't ascribe it to any one source but when you add them all up with a few 1 to 2 inch all day rain storms thrown in, it could be like an artillery TOT where several sources of crap land on the same pummeled pond at once.

I'm more interested in making sense of the problem than being right.

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Still wheeling and dealing in his inimitable and affable fashion!

That said, lets take a look at the pond environs: https://www.google.com/maps/place/Jamaica+Pond+Boat+House/@42.3174618,-71.1219259,1369m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0x543b7a95ec0ba8ec!6m1!1e1

It isn't "forest on three sides". There are playing fields, intense residential development, and suburban subdivisions on three sides. A college on a fourth side may also be treating lawns.

The catchment is, overall, heavily urbanized. We had some heavy rains on Saturday (and I was actually at Daisy Field - also nearby). I'm betting it is more what is used to treat lawns and playing fields than shit.

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It's just a method of setback to protect water systems. The town of Walpole has an impressive buffer zone for its water supply in the headwaters of the Neponset.. Mine Brook.

The theory behind it seems to be that a tree layer around a water body helps absorb run off with crap and detergent through things like vascular uptake where roots use the nutrients before they build up in a water body.

I'd argue that Hellenic Hill,I and II, Parkman Memorial Park, and the design of the cluster housing.. (dorms?) don't have a lot of lawnage. And the satellite imagery for the old Parkman Mansion area shows a typically dormant high summer desiccated lawn.

The city isn't up for Chemlawn there. Hellenic has a small athletic field some distance away with two hills between it and the pond.

Daisy Field and Harry Downes Field are downstream of the Pond and water only flows uphill in unusual tidal bores you find in places like Cobscook Bay in Maine where the tide differentials are large and the incoming tide rides over outgoing water still draining the upper reaches of the bay.

It's an impressive place.

So we're still looking at finding out. That will involve a lot of testing of source possibilities, taking samples, visual observation of things like laundry day lighting and Chemlawn signs on lawns.

It's a fairly compact area, so a source audit should be doable and then we're off of the thin ice of speculation.

But I wouldn't be surprised if Jamaica Pond is toast for a fairly long time. And it will be entertaining to see what, if anything team, Walsh does about it.

As with the prior squirrel speculations, it really is fun looking stuff up and making it available to the blog readers.

Life's more fun when your aim is to find stuff out rather than to be right. These comment boxes are perfect places to make supplemental and side story addenda to the articles Adam posts.

My aim is to enhance the value of a post by looking up this stuff that Adam probably doesn't have time for. It makes for a more informative contribution than the usual breast beating, bragging and hollow assertion that is such a staple on the comment menu here.

Imagine if more people did that? The comment sections would actually have engaging, substantive elements a reader could take away with them as a kind of learning.

Think about it.. Would you rather see an infestation of drivel from various Markkks of the left and right or something you can build on?

He does kind of function like an algae bloom with his OCD talking points he cobbles together from various neocon apologists.

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Do they need to find a new spot for Olympic diving?

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Concord's White Pond:

“The bloom is still happening and it appears to be as robust as last week,” she said, adding that it is not isolated to Concord, as state health officials say there are ponds across Massachusetts with the bacteria.

Rask said human activity is likely the cause.

“If you build a few hundred homes in the watershed, the effect of nutrient loading (will cause algae bloom),” Rask said.

Runoff, fertilizer and septic systems, or a combination of the three, could be behind the bloom, according to Rask.

“Blooms in Massachusetts and New England are on the rise,” Concord Natural Resources Director Delia Kaye said. “Blue-green algae could be caused by run off, septic systems, nutrient cycling in the water, agricultural runoff. They’re all potential sources. There are also weather conditions. There are many factors playing into this. It’s not one smoking gun.”

http://concord.wickedlocal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20150715%2FN...

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