Presentation of the Great Bay Nitrogen Non-Point Source Study on May 16, 2013

The Great Bay Estuary is 21 square miles of tidal waters located in southeastern New Hampshire. It is one of 28 “estuaries of national significance” established under the Environmental Protection Agency’s National Estuary Program. The estuary exhibits symptoms of too much nitrogen pollution: low dissolved oxygen, algae growth, and declining underwater eelgrass habitat.

The majority of nitrogen in Great Bay Estuary originates from sources spread across the watershed rather than point sources, such as municipal wastewater treatment facilities. These sources of nitrogen are called non-point sources and consist of atmospheric deposition, fertilizer, human waste disposed to septic systems and animal waste.

The New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (DES) has been researching how much nitrogen each of these non-point sources contributes to the estuary. The results of this work are summarized in a new draft report called the Great Bay Nitrogen Non-Point Source Study.

DES will hold a public meeting on Thursday, May 16, 2013 from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM to present the draft report. The meeting will be held at the DES Pease Field Office at 222 International Drive, Suite 175, Portsmouth, NH. Reservations are not required but please send an email to Matthew.Wood@des.nh.gov

 if you plan to attend. Directions are available at: http://des.nh.gov/contactus/documents/directions_to_pease_office.pdf . Please park in the back of the building.

The draft report will be released on the DES website on or before May 16, 2013. Comments on the draft report will be accepted until June 17, 2013.

Click here to download information about the presentation:

GBNNPSS Meeting Notice

This entry was posted in Watershed Restoration (Impaired Waters). Bookmark the permalink.