May 27, 2006 - PLYMOUTH - To protect a drinking water source that serves seven area towns, both the state House of Representatives and the Senate Ways and Means Committee proposed budgets that provide funds for the Plymouth-Carver Aquifer. Both budgets call for $100,000.

After the Senate votes on its budget bill, House and Senate leaders will negotiate the differences in a conference committee. The conference committee will present its final budget to the governor for review.

Reps. Tom O’Brien, D-Kingston, Vinny deMacedo, R-Plymouth, Susan Williams-Gifford, R-Wareham, William Strauss, D-Mattapoisett, and Steven Cannessa, D-New Bedford, sponsored the House budget amendment. Sen. Terry Murray, D-Plymouth, chairs the Senate Ways and Means Committee. The aquifer serves Plymouth, Carver, Bourne, Kingston, Middleborough, Wareham and Plympton.

With the money, the Massachusetts Executive Office of Environmental Affairs (EOEA) would appoint an ombudsman to work with a new Plymouth-Carver Aquifer Advisory Committee. Together, they would develop a plan to protect and manage the 500-billion gallon aquifer. Two members from each aquifer town, appointed by the town’s governing body, would sit on the committee.

“As the state representative for the 12th Plymouth District, an area of impressive environmental diversity, I have always felt a special obligation to protect the ecological resources throughout our district,” O’Brien said. “It is immensely gratifying to have shepherded this amendment designed to maintain the viability of the aquifer for generations to come.”

According to Nature Conservancy spokesman Linda Orel, various organizations including the Taunton River Watershed Alliance, the Nature Conservancy and Southeast Regional Planning and Economic Development District (SRPEDD) have worked on effective water planning for decades. Taunton River Watershed and the Plymouth-Carver Aquifer overlap.

The call for active protection grew more urgent following the publication of a recent SRPEDD study, which projected the Southeastern Massachusetts population will increase by more than 200,000 in the next 20 years.

“Here at the Nature Conservancy, we’re trying to do a combination of smart growth and management of natural resources,” Orel said. “We are asserting it should be done well. As the fastest growing region in the state, these historic New England towns are confronted with rapid development – which, if not properly managed, threatens to permanently alter the aquifer and other critical natural resources.”

The U.S. Geological Survey and the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) launched a $750,000 investigation of the aquifer and its resources. Launched in January 2006, the investigation will create a groundwater flow model to help officials understand the quality and dynamics of the resource.

“You have more globally rare species in Plymouth than almost any other town in Massachusetts,” Orel said. “A lot rely on theaquifer for survival.”

The aquifer also provides water to significant coastal rivers including the Wareham, Agawam, Wankinko, Red Brook, Eel and Weweantic Rivers.

“It’s still undeveloped enough that there’s actually work to do, and it’s an extra special place,” Orel said. “We do come with a lot of scientific knowledge and resources and we’re excited about working down there.”

According to Nature Conservancy State Director Wayne Klocker, the sand and gravel deposits that make up the geologic foundation for the area landscape enable the aquifer to hold its large amount of clean groundwater.

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