495/MetroWest Water Resources Strategy

Based on research by the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) in collaboration with the 495/MetroWest Partnership, the challenges of sustainable management of water resources in one of the state’s fastest growing regions, the 495/MetroWest corridor, are explored. Innovative water management techniques that address water supply, wastewater, and storm water issues are evaluated. Case studies in three areas are included: Low Impact Development, water reuse, and seasonal peak water demand, focusing on examples of successful implementation as well as challenges and obstacles. Like many growing regions, the 495/MetroWest corridor faces challenges in three key aspects of water resources management: increasing water demand to serve growing residential and commercial/industrial customers, stormwater management in urbanizing watersheds, and wastewater management in communities with constraints on both infrastructure capacity and permitted discharges. To help communities meet these challenges, MAPC and the 495/ MetroWest Partnership recently completed the 495/MetroWest Water Resources Strategy project, funded by a grant from the Environmental Protection Agency. The project’s research into innovative water management techniques informed the creation of a WaterSmart Tool Kit, which presents the findings in a series of accessible manuals and guides geared towards practical implementation at the local level. Components of the project include the Guide to Water Reuse in Massachusetts, the Guide to Peak Summer Water Demand Management, and the Massachusetts Low Impact Development Tool Kit, which was awarded Best Project by the Massachusetts chapter of the American Planning Association. The project also includes the WaterSmart Indicators, a regional database that tracks trends in water supply, wastewater, and stormwater in the 32 communities in the 495/MetroWest Corridor. Finally, the project features collaborative research by the U.S. Geological Survey, which conducted hydrological modeling of the projected impacts of year 2030 population growth on the water resources of the Charles and Assabet River watersheds, using MODFLOW groundwater models