REPORT ON POLLUTION OF
THE MERRIMACK RIVER
AND CERTAIN TRIBUTARIES
part V-Nashua River
JLJ
MASS.
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
FEDERAL WATER POLLUTION CONTROL ADMINISTRATION
Merrimack River Project-Northeast Region
Lawrence, Massachusetts
August 1966
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REPORT ON POLLUTION OF
THE MERRIMACK RIVER
AND CERTAIN TRIBUTARIES
PART V - NASHUA RIVER
U. S. Department of the Interior
Federal Water Pollution Control Administration
Northeast Region
Merrimack River Project
Lawrence, Massachusetts
August 1966
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page No.
INTRODUCTION 1
BACKGROUND 3
SOURCES OF POLLUTION 4
GENERAL 4
BACTERIA 6
SUSPENDED SOLIDS 9
BIOCHEMICAL OXYGEN DEMAND 9
NUTRIENTS 10
APPARENT COLOR 10
WATER USES 11
EFFECTS OF POLLUTION ON WATER QUALITY AND USES 13
BACTERIAL POLLUTION 13
SUSPENDED SOLIDS 18
DISSOLVED OXYGEN 19
BIOLOGICAL 23
NUTRIENTS 28
APPARENT COLOR 30
BOTTOM SEDIMENTS IN PEPPERELL POND ,- 31
VOLUME OF SEDIMENT 31
OXYGEN UTILIZATION BY SEDIMENTS 32
NUTRIENTS CONTAINED IN SEDIMENTS 36
FUTURE WATER QUALITY 38
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS 43
APPENDICES 49
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LIST OF FIGURES
FOLLOWING
FIGURE NO. PAGE NO.
1 Nashua River Basin A5
2 Suspended Solids Loads, Nashua River Basin ... 10
3 BOD Loads, Nashua River Basin 10
4 Coliforms in North Nashua & Nashua Rivers,
June 15-17, 1965 14
5 Dissolved Oxygen, North Nashua & Nashua
Rivers, June 15-17, 1965 . 20
6 Dissolved Oxygen, North Nashua & Nashua
Rivers, July 1, 1966 22
7 Numbers and Kinds of Benthic Organisms,
June-July, 1965 24
8 Orthophosphate, North Nashua & Nashua Rivers,
September 7-9, 1965 30
9 Nitrogen, North Nashua & Nashua Rivers,
September 7-9, 1965 30
10 Sections of Pepperell Pond 32
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LIST OF TABLES
Table No. Page No.
1 Estimated Characteristics of Sewage and
Industrial Wastes Discharged to the
Nashua River and Tributaries within
Massachusetts 7
2 Most Frequent Salmonella Isolations, 1964 .... 17
3 Sediment Deposits in Pepperell Pond 33
4 Oxygen Demand by Pepperell Pond Sediments .... 34
5 Nutrients in Benthal Deposits of Pepperell
Pond 37
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INTRODUCTION
In accordance with the written rcqueet to the Secretary of
Health, Education, and Welfare from the former Governor Endicott Peabody
of Massachusetts, dated February 12, 1963, and on the basis of reports,
surveys or studies, the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare,
on September 23, 1963, called a conference under the provisions of the
Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U. S. C. 466 et seq.), in the
matter of pollution of the interstate waters of the Merrimack and
Nashua Rivers and their tributaries (Massachusetts-New Hampshire) and
the intrastate portions of those waters within the State of Massachusetts.
The conference was held February 11, 1964, in Faneuil Hall, Boston,
Massachusetts.
In February 1964, the U. S. Department of Health, Education,
and Welfare established the Merrimack River Project to evaluate the
adequacy of the pollution abatement program' for the Merrimack River and
to obtain supplemental water quality data in certain portions of the
Merrimack River Basin. The Nashua Hlver is included in this study.
Headquarters for the Project are located at the Lawrence Experiment
Station of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in Lawrence, Massachusetts.
Subsequent to the conference, the Secretary of Health, Education,
and Welfare recommended appropriate pollution abatement action. Specifi-
cally, he recommended that a pollution abatement program commensurate with
that on the Merrimack River be established for Massachusetts communities
and industries in the Massachusetts portion of the Nashua River Valley with
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all preliminary plans completed and submitted to the Massachusetts
Department of Public Health not later than September 1965.
This report is based on data, reports and other materials
furnished by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, the New
Hampshire Water Pollution Commission and the New England Interstate
Water Pollution Control Commission; data furnished by the National Council
for Stream Improvement (of the Pulp, Paper, and Paperboard Industries),
Incorporated; information furnished by other interested federal agencies;
information from the Nashua River Study Committee and other citizens
living in the Nashua River Basin; official records of the Federal Water
Pollution Control Administration; and data obtained by the Merrimack
River Project through field surveys. The cooperation of the numerous
agencies and individuals is gratefully acknowledged.
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BACKGROUND
The Nashua River is formed by the confluence of the North and
South Branches of the Nashua River at Lancaster, Massachusetts, from
which it flows in a northerly direction for approximately twenty-six
miles. At the New Hampshire-Massachusetts state line, it flows north-
easterly for about ten miles to Nashua, New Hampshire, where it joins
the Merrimack River (Figure l). It has a drainage area of 530 square
miles, of which 132 square miles are drained by the North Nashua River.
The North Nashua has an average slope of twenty feet per mile, while the
slope of the slower moving Nashua River averages only four feet per
mile, much of which is utilized by several dams.
The industrial value of the North Nashua River was recognized
in the first decade of the nineteenth century when General Leonard
Burbank established a paper mill and dam at Fitchburg, Massachusetts.
Later, cotton mills, saw mills and additional paper mills were estab-
lished. Today, approximately 2? per cent of the production of paper and
board in Massachusetts come from plants in the Nashua River Basin.
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SOURCES OF POLLUTION
GENERAL
Sewage and industrial wastes contain a variety of obnoxious
components which can damage water quality and restrict its use. Oxygen-
demanding materials can limit or destroy fish, fish food organisms and
other desirable aquatic life by removing dissolved oxygen from the river.
Greasy substances can form objectionable surface scums, settleable
solids can create sludge deposits, and suspended materials can make once
attractive waters appear turbid.
Industrial wastes may also contain additional objectionable
chemicals and toxic substances that can kill aquatic life, taint fish
flesh or promote slime growths in the receiving waters. Heat from
industrial processes or steam-electric generating plants can magnify
the adverse effects of other decomposing wastes and, if excessive, can
injure or kill fish and other aquatic life.
Sewage contains astronomical numbers of intestinal bacteria
which were released in man's excretions. Some of these, such as the
Salmonella bacteria, may be pathogens which can reinfect man with a
variety of diseases.
The 5-day biochemical oxygen demand test of sewage and indust-
rial wastes measures the potential of these materials for reducing the
dissolved oxygen content of the river waters. The coliform bacteria
content of raw and treated sewage indicates the density of sewage-
associated bacteria, which may include disease-producing pathogens, dis-
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charged to the river. Oxygen-demanding loads are expressed as popula-
tion equivalents (PE) of 5-day biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), and the
bacterial loads are expressed as bacterial population equivalents (BFE)
of total coliform bacteria. Each PE or BPE unit represents the average
amount of oxygen demand or coliform bacteria normally contained in
sewage contributed by one person in one day. (One PE equals one-sixth
pound per day of 5-day BOD and one BPE equals about 250 billion coliform
bacteria per day).
The amount of such pollutional components in sewage that can
be removed by sewage treatment works depends upon the type and capacity
of the plants and the skill of the operators. Types of sewage treatment
plants in this area are generally identified as primary or secondary-
wit h or without chlorination.
Primary treatment plants, which consist essentially of settling
tanks and sludge digesters, can remove most of the scum and settleable
\
solids, about one-third of the oxygen-demanding materials and approximately
fifty per cent of the bacteria. Secondary plants consist of biological
treatment units, such as trickling filters, activated sludge or oxidation
lagoons. Such plants can remove about 90-95 per cent of the BOD, sus-
pended solids and coliform bacteria. Chlorination facilities for disinfec-
tion of properly treated sewage plant effluents can destroy more than 99
per cent of the sewage bacteria. To accomplish these reductions, however,
treatment facilities must be properly designed and skillfully operated.
Estimates have been made of the waste discharges to the Nashua
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River and its tributaries within Massachusetts. These estimates, based
primarily on surveys taken by the Massachusetts Department of Public
Health and 1963 surveys by the National Council for Stream Improvement
(of the Pulp, Paper, and Paperboard Industries), are summarized in Table 1.
BACTERIA
Sewage is the principal source of bacterial pollution in the
Nashua River Basin. Tests were not carried out to determine whether
or not favorable environmental conditions in the paper machines increased
the bacterial densities in the process water used by the paper industries
and, subsequently, in the receiving stream. Although practically all
the sewape in the Basin receives treatment before being discharged, an in-
adequate sewage collection system at Fitchburg, Massachusetts, results
in overflows of raw sewage directly to the North Nashua River. This
source, accounting for approximately 18,900 bacterial population equiva-
lents, represents nearly 78 per cent of the total bacterial load entering
the Nashua River and its tributaries.
Leominster, with part of its sewage receiving secondary treat-
ment and a small amount being by-passed at the time of this report,
accounts for 12.4 per cent of the total bacterial load to the river,
while treated sewage from Clinton represents 5.4 per cent of the total.
The prechlorination facilities at Leominster are not used. Raw sewage
from approximately 200 persons is discharged by East Pepperell, while
lesser amounts are discharged by Lancaster and Shirley. These three
discharges represent less than 2 per cent of the total bacterial loading.
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TABLE 1
ESTIMATED CHARACTERISTICS OF SEWAGE AND INDUSTRIAL WASTES
DISCHARGED TO THE NASHUA RIVER AND TRIBUTARIES WITHIN MASSACHUSETTS
Population Equivalents Discharged
Discharge
Treatment and
Waste Reduction Measures
Bacterial
Suspended Solids
Oxygen Demand
Number% Total Number % Total Number% Total
Gushing Academy
State Hospital
(Gardner)
Weyerhaeuser Paper
Con?) any
Fitchburg Paper Co.
,»
Simonds Saw and
Steel Company
Secondary with C15
€»
Secondary with C12
Save-alls, wastes recirculated,
starch substitution, settling
Save-alls, wastes recirculated,
retention aids
None
3
16
--
—
—
0.01
0.07
—
—
—
45
80
184,600
108,200
—
0.01
0.01
33.19
19.45
—
30
80
39,650
37,060
5,800
0.02
0.05
22.30
20.84
3.26
Falulah Paper Company
Fitchburg
Mead Corporation
Foster Grant Company
Leominster
Atlantic Union College
Lancaster
Wastes recirculated, chemical
precipitation, vacuum filtra-
tion of sludge
Inadequate secondary
Starch substitution, wastes
recirculated
Lagoon
Partly secondary, partly raw
Partly primary, partly secondary
None
18,900 77.85
3,000
210
150
12.36
0.87
0.62
115,400
20,700
30,300
16,600
5,200
210
150
20.75
3.72
,45
•98
0.94
0.04
0.03
27,91+0
19,500
5,700
2,500
12,140
280
150
15.71
10.97
3.21
1.41
6.82
0.16
0.08
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TABLE 1 (Continued)
Population Equivalents Discharged
i
Co
i
Discharge
Blackstone Mills, Inc.
Clinton
Girls Industrial
School
Shirley
Ayer
Hollingsworth and
Vose Company
Groton Leather Board
Company
Groton School
St. Regis Paper
Company
Pepperell
TOTAL
Treatment and
Waste Reduction Measures
None
Secondary
Secondary
None
Secondary
Settling, wastes recirculated
Settling, wastes recirculated
Secondary
Save-alls, wastes recirculated
None
Bacterial
Number
__
1,300
15
100
375
—
--
8
--
200
2U,277
% Total
__
5.35.
0.06
0.1*1
1.55
--
--
0.03
--
0.82
100.00
Suspended Solids
Number
__
1,560
18
100
750
1,^70
5,880
10
61*, 700
200
556,173
% Total
__
0.28
__
0.02
0.13
0.26
1.06
__
11. 6U
O.oU
100.00
Oxygen Demand
Number
150
i,c4o
18
100
500
6,650
2,120
10
16,200
200
177,818
% Total
-0.08
0.58
0.01
0.06
0.28
3.71*
1.19
0.01
9.11
0.11
100.00
Supplementary Data:
Borden Chemical Company, Leominater, Massachu-
setts, having no treatment measures, discharges suspended
solids population equivalents of 2,000 and oxygen demand
population equivalents of 11,000.
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Sewage from Fort Devens, a federal installation at Ayer,
Massachusetts, passes through Imhoff tanks with the effluent being dis-
charged to leaching beds where it seeps into the ground away from the
Nashua River.
SUSPENDED SOLIDS
Discharges of suspended solids create a severe problem in the
Nashua River. Most of the solids are discharged by the paper mills in
the Basin. For example, almost $2 per cent of the 556,000 suspended solids
population equivalents (SSFE) discharged come from the paper mills. By
far the largest loadings emanate from the three paper industries of
Fitchburg, Massachusetts, where 408,200 SSPE or 73.4 per cent of the total
originate. The St. Regis Paper Company in Pepperell, Massachusetts, dis-
chargee wastes with a suspended solids population equivalent of 6^,700,
or 11.6 per cent of the total, 3.5 miles above the Massachusetts-New
Hampshire state line. Figure 2 presents the data in graphical form.
BIOCHEMICAL OXIQEN DEMAND
Sewage and industrial wastes presently discharged to the Nashua
River have an estimated biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) population equiva-
lent of 177,800. The paper industries contribute 76.1 per cent of the
total. Of the municipalities, Fitchburg contributes approximately 19,500
BOD population equivalents or 11 per cent of the 177,800. Other sources,
accounting for the remaining 12.9 per cent, ranged from 0.01 to 6.8
. 9 -
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per cent of the total each, with the effluent from Leominster being
responsible for the higher value (Figure 3).
NUTRIENTS
Treated and untreated sewage discharged to the Nashua River
contributes a significant amount of phosphates to the stream. Considering
data from river sampling and the sewered population, it was estimated
that 128,000 population equivalents of orthophosphates, which are readily
available for growth of 'algae or other aquatic vegetation, are discharged
to the Nashua River. The three largest sources are Leominster with 51
per cent, Fitchburg with 34 per cent and Clinton with 8 per cent.
APPARENT COLOR
At the end of a paper machine run, batches of the residual
liquid containing pigments or dyes are discharged by some of the paper
mills. When this happens, the river is turned red, green, blue or
whatever color is discharged. In addition, white suspended matter, due
to materials such as titanium dioxide which are used to give the paper
a whiter appearance, is routinely released to the Nashua River.
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WEYERHAEUSER PAPER CO.
o
ST. REGIS
PAPER CO
NEW HAMPSHIRE
FALULAH PAPER CO
MASSACHUSETTS
CUSHING
ACADEMY
PEPPERELL
HOLLINGSWORTH
a VOSE co.
GROTON
LEATHER BOARD
CO.
STATE
HOSPITAL
GROTON
SCHOOL
FOSTER GRANT CO.
FITCHBURG
LANCASTE
LEOMINSTER
MEAD CORP.
ATL.UNION COLLEG
AREA* 100,000
SUSPENDED SOLIDS
POPULATION EQUIVALENTS
SUSPENDED SOLIDS LOADS
NASHUA RIVER BASIN
FITCHBURG PAPER CO.
GIRLS
IND.
SCHOOL
-------
WEYERHAEUSER PAPER CO
J5
c*
ST REGIS
PAPER CO
_ NEW HAMPSHIR_
MASSACHUSETTS
FITCHBUR6
HOLLINGS WORTH
8 VOSE CO.
GUSHING
ACADEMY
PEPPERELL
SIMONDS SAW
8 STEEL CO.
STATE
HOSPITAL!
MEAD
CORP
GROTON SCHOOL
FOSTER
GRANT CO
LEOMINSTER
FITCHBURG PAPER CO
ATL. UNION
COLLEGE
AYER
HIRLEY
LANCASTER
GROTON
LEATHER
BOARD CO.
AREA = 50,000 BOD
POPULATION EQUIVALENTS
FALULAH PAPER CO.
INDUSTRIAL
SCHOOL
BLACKSTONE
MILLS
BOD LOADS
NASHUA RIVER BASIN
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WATER USES
Several Nashua River Basin communities obtain their municipal
water supplies from surface sources. These supplies are obtained from
unpolluted tributaries or headwaters in the Basin. In addition, the
Metropolitan District Commission obtains water for Greater Boston from
the Wachusett Reservoir on the South Branch Nashua River. No municipal
water is obtained from the polluted sections of the Nashua River.
During the past few years, there has been a critical shortage
of municipal water supplies in Fitchburg and Leominster, Massachusetts.
Emergency water lines had to be laid to new sources, and severe restric-
tions on the use of water were put into effect.
Approximately 28 million gallons per day are used from the
Nashua River Basin by the paper industries for process water. In some
cases, the river containing upstream waste discharges is diverted for
use by a downstream mill. When necessary to precondition the water,
facilities ranging from sand filters to ion exchange processes are used.
Nashua River water is used for irrigation of truck crops in
some areas. During drought periods, the stream may be of considerable
benefit to nearby farmers.
At the present time the Nashua River is populated by various
types of coarse fish in the Pepperell reservoir and in the New Hampshire
section. Based on the character of the stream, it appears that recrea-
tional fishing would be possible in the entire North Nashua and Nashua
River system if the water quality were improved. In addition, improved
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water quality would enhance the important waterfowl area in the Lancaster-
Bolton, Massachusetts, section. At the present time, a small amount of
boating takes place in the reservoir at Pepperell. Demands for all types
of water oriented recreation in the Nashua River Basin are heavy and are
expected to increase in the future.
The Nashua River can be used at the Fort Devens Military Reser-
vation for training exercises involving streams and for recreation when
pollution is controlled. The sections of the river forming the post
boundary could be used for public recreation, while the sections entirely
within the reservation could be used for recreation by post personnel or
by the public by permit.
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EFFECTS OF POLLUTION ON WATER QUALITY AND USES
Previous reports have described the polluted conditions in
the Nashua River. The Nashua Valley Water Supply and Sewerage Project
of the W. P. A. concluded in 1936 that: "There is no question but that
the Nashua River is polluted in portions of its course both by domestic
and industrial wastes. This condition exists from Fitchburg to the
Massachusetts-New Hampshire state line." The Project added that the
removal of polluted wastes "...would be an asset to both communities
and industries, and would encourage further industrial and recreational
development." In 1954 the report of the New England-New York Inter-
Agency Committee on the resources of the region cited the Nashua River
as being "outstanding for its absolute worthlessness as a fish stream"
in its present condition.
During the summers of 1962 and 1963, studies were made by the
National Council for Stream Improvement (of the Pulp, Paper, and Paper-
board Industries) and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health of
the paper mill waste loads and the water quality conditions of the
receiving streams. Severe pollution was found from Fitchburg, Massachusetts,
to Nashua, New Hampshire.
BACTERIAL POLLUTION
Water polluted by sewage frequently contains pathogenic bacteria
which, if ingested, can cause gastrointestinal diseases such as typhoid
*
fever, dysentery, and diarrhea. The infectious hepatitis virus, and other
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viruses may also be present. Body contact with sewage-polluted water
can cause eye, ear, nose, throat or skin infections. Therefore, ex-
cessive bacterial pollution of a river presents a health hazard to all
who come in contact with the water.
Sewage also contains bacteria of the coliform group, which
typically occur in excreta or feces and are readily detectable. Although
most are harmless in themselves, coliform bacteria are always present in
sewage-polluted water and are considered indicators of the probable
presence of pathogenic bacteria. Many state and interstate water pollution
control agencies evaluate water quality on the basis of sanitary survey
findings and total coliform content. Recently, refined methods for
isolation and detection of Salmonella organisms have made it practical to
test for these specific infectious disease bacteria.
Both Massachusetts and New Hampshire have bacteriological
standards for bathing waters. The total coliform limit in Massachusetts
bathing waters is 2,400 per 100 ml, while the limit in New Hampshire is
240 per 100 ml. Neither state has adopted a total coliform standard of
water quality for the recreational uses of fishing and boating. Where
such an objective has been adopted in other states, the commonly used
limit is 5*000 per 100 ml. A commonly accepted upper limit for waters
involving whole body contact uses, such as swimming and water skiing,
is 1,000 coliform bacteria per 100 ml.
A bacteriological study was made by the Merrimack River Project
on the Nashua River during the period June 15-17, 1965. The results are
presented in Figure 4. Most of the length of the North Nashua and Nashua
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100,000
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NORTH
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MILES ABOVE MOUTH OF NASHUA RIVER
* * COLIFORWS IN NORTH
NASHUA 8 NASHUA RIVERS
JUNE 45-17,1965
FIGURE 4.
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Rivers in Massachusetts had a coliform density which exceeded 5»000 per
100 ml.
The total colifonns increased from an average of 110 per 100 ml
in the Whitman River near its mouth to an average of 82^,000 per 100 ml.
below Fitchburg. Maximum coliform values recorded during the period were
270 and 1,1^0,000 per 100 ml, respectively. After an initial decrease,
the average number of coliforms Increased to 1,830,000 per 100 ml below
Leominster. At this location, a maximum coliform density of 3,400,000
per 100 ml was obtained during the June sampling. This density was 680
times the commonly used limit for fishing waters. Apparently the secondary
sewage treatment plant at Leominster was not operating properly, since the
increase was much higher than would be expected. Around-the-clock sampling
during the period August 31 to September 2, 1965, in the North Nashua River
below Leominster and the upper Nashua River indicated that the coliform
densities were the same order of magnitude as those found during the June
survey. The colifonns were again found to be as high as 3,400,000 per
100 ml below Leominster.
Although coliforms below the Clinton, Massachusetts, treated
sewage discharge increased to an average of 372,000 per 100 ml in the
South Branch Nashua River, the low flow and long detention resulted in a
decrease to 14,400 Just above the mouth. Treated sewage from the Ayer,
Massachusetts, area resulted in an increase in the average coliform value
to 55,000 per 100 ml in the Nashua River. After the coliform die-off in
Pepperell reservoir, an increase again took place as the raw sewage from
East Pepperell was discharged to the river.
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During November and December, 1965, special Salmonella bacteria
detection studies were conducted on the North Nashua and the South Branch
Nashua Rivers in Lancaster, Massachusetts. While coliform densities
indicate the magnitude of fecal pollution which may contain disease-
producing organisms, detection of pathogenic Salmonella bacteria in river
water is positive proof that these infectious disease-producing organisms
are actually present.
Salmonellosis, the disease caused by various species of
Salmonella bacteria, includes typhoid fever, gastroenteritis and diarrhea.
There are more than 900 known serological types of Salmonella. During
1964 there were over 21,000 Salmonella isolations from humans in the
United States; fifty-seven known deaths resulted from Salmonellosis.
Table 2 lists the ten most common salmonella serotypes isolated from
human specimens in the United States during 1964.
In the work conducted by the Merrimack River Project, six
different serotypes were found in the river in Lancaster. Salmonella
new brunswick and S. montevideo were isolated from the North Nashua
River, while S. livingstone. S. typhimurium. S. blockley. and S. typhimurium
var. Copenhagen were found in the South Branch Nashua River.
The presence of pathogenic organisms in the stream emphasizes
the need for adequate pollution abatement and reaffirms the necessity
for continuous and effective waste treatment which will remove Salmonellae
and other pathogenic bacteria.
The high bacterial densities in the Nashua River Basin present
a health hazard to anyone who may ingest the water. In addition, there
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TABLE 2
MOST FREQUENT SALMONELLA ISOLATIONS,
RANK SEROTYPE NUMBER PERCENT
1. S. typhimurium &
S. typhimurium v. cop. 5,862 27.8
2. S. derby 2,360 11. 2
3. S. heidelberg 1,717 8.1
k. S. infantis 1,523 7.2
5. S. newport 1,036 ^.9
6. S. enteritidis 801 3.8
7. S. typhi 703 3.3
8. S. saint-paul 6^5 3.1
9. S. oranienburg 550 2.6
10. S. Montevideo 52U 2.5
TOTAL 15,721 7k. 5
TOTAL (all serotypes) 21,113 100.0
SOURCE: Salmonella Surveillance Report, Annual Sumnary-196U,
Conmunicable Disease Center, U. S. Department of Health,
Education, and Welfare, Atlanta, Georgia
- 17 -
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is a hazard to the health of persons who eat truck crop produce irrigated
by polluted Nashua River water. Much truck crop produce is eaten without
being cooked.
SUSPENDED SOLIDS
Excessive suspended solids in a stream diminish the beauty of
the water and settle to the stream bottom where they form sludge deposits.
These deposits can deplete the stream's oxygen supply and produce offen-
sive odors. They blanket the stream bottom and smother the aquatic life
upon which fish feed. The sludge deposits decompose, and in many cases
the gases from decomposition buoy up the sludge which then will float on
the stream surface, causing unsightly conditions.
Ideally, a stream bottom should be free of pollutants that will
adversely alter the composition of the bottom fauna, interfere with the
spawning of fish or with their eggs, or adversely change the physical or
chemical nature of the bottom. The Nashua River is far from meeting
these conditions.
Deposits of sludge two to six inches deep exist throughout
most of North Nashua and Nashua Rivers. Along the river banks, sludge
depths one to two feet deep are common, while in parts of the Pepperell
reservoir, sludge deposits at least thirty inches deep were located.
Behind the dam near the Ayer Ice Company, sludge extends nearly to the
top of the dam. Similar conditions exist behind several other dams along
the North Nashua and Nashua Rivers.
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Many obnoxious, black, floating sludge rafts, which have been
lifted up from the bottom, may be observed in the Nashua River. Most of
the clumps are a few inches in diameter, but floating sludge over three
feet in diameter has been seen. In July 1966, a solid blanket of sludge
over 600 feet long coated the top of the Nashua River behind the Ayer
Ice Company dam.
In the summer of 1965, the Merrimack River Project received
a letter from a family living near the Nashua River in Pepperell. The
letter described the Nashua and read in part "...There are giant clumps
of solids that look and smell like cow manure, only it can't be I don't
think. What ever it is, it sure smells awful...I've never seen it
(the river) so bad as now and never has it smelled like now. You'll
need a gas mask if you come to town."
Clean rivers are an asset to property values and a joy to
persons living nearby. Waste treatment measures should be taken long
before a river is so polluted that nearby families can no longer tolerate
the foul stench.
DISSOLVED OXYGEN
Sewage and many industrial wastes contain organic matter
which decomposes and exerts a demand on the dissolved oxygen in the
receiving stream. When the dissolved oxygen (D.O.) is reduced below
an adequate level, the fish population and the aquatic life on which
the fish feed are killed or driven out of the area. Most water pollu-
tion control agenices have adopted a minimum mg/1 D.C. objective to
- 19 -
-------
maintain the maximum potential warm water sport fish population.
When the dissolved oxygen becomes totally depleted, obnoxious
odors, mostly from hydrogen sulfide, result, causing an unpleasant
environment for persons living or working nearby. The hydrogen sulfide
given off by the stream may turn nearby houses, bridges and other
painted structures black.
Figure 5 illustrates the substantial reduction in D.O. in the
North Nashua River during the period June 15-17, 1965, caused by the
waste discharges followed by only partial recovery. It also shows the
effect of sludge deposits, along with the residual biochemical oxygen
demand from the upstream discharges, on D.O. of the Nashua River, where
the stream velocity was much lower than in the North Nashua and reaeration
was less rapid. Oxygen values at or near zero were common. In fact,
just upstream of the Squannacook River, zero D.O. occurred in every sample
obtained. At this point the disgusting septic odor was prevalent 200
feet from the Nashua River. The dissolved oxygen was slightly above zero
in the free flowing section below the dam at Pepperell, Massachusetts,
but the oxygen decreased again in New Hampshire. At the Everett Turnpike
in Nashua, New Hampshire, the average D.O. was only 1.65 mg/1, with a
minimum of 0.1 mg/1 being recorded. Of the fifty-three miles of stream
sampled, the average dissolved oxygen was below the desirable minimum
of 5 mg/1 in approximately forty miles, while the minimum dissolved
oxygen levels recorded were below the desired lower limit at every
sampling station except the background station above Fitchburg.
Additional sampling was carried out by the Merrimack River
- 20 -
-------
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Project during the period August 31 to September 3, 1965, in the North
Nashua River below Leominster and in the Nashua River from Lancaster to
Still River Station at river mile 31-3. Average dissolved oxygen values
were approximately half the values obtained during the June sampling.
Minimum values of zero were obtained in the North Nashua at the bridge
near the old Ponakin Mill in North Lancaster and in the Nashua River at
Still River Station.
With few exceptions, the dissolved oxygen levels in the North
Nashua and Nashua Rivers have been inadequate to support fish life.
Non-game fish find their way into the Pepperell reservoir and into the
New Hampshire section of the Nashua River; but even these fish are
killed by the pollution.
During the period June 30-July 3, 1965, an estimated 7,000
non-game fish were killed in Pepperell reservoir when the Hollingsworth
and Voae Paper Company pumped a large batch of sludge to the Squannacook
River instead of to sludge drying beds. This black slurry totally
depleted the dissolved oxygen of the Nashua River and killed all the
fish in its path, as it flowed downstream.
Low dissolved oxygen was also the cause of a large fish kill
in the lower Nashua River during the period July 14-24, 1963, when
thousands of non-game fish died. The effected reach covered over
fifteen miles of stream in Massachusetts and New Hampshire.
Fish kills are not limited to the summer period. On March 10,
1966, numerous non-game fish were killed in the Pepperell reservoir.
Despite the very low dissolved oxygen conditions in the Nashua
- 21 -
-------
River over the past years, probably the worst condition was reached
during the summer of 1966. Figure 6 shows the results of a spot check
made of the dissolved oxygen in the North Nashua and Nashua Rivers on
July 1, 1966. The Nashua River contained no dissolved oxygen whatsoever
at each point sampled from Still River Station to Hollis, New Hampshire.
The river was grayish-black in color and had a strong septic odor.
As a result of the obnoxious odor, the people living in towns
bordering the Nashua River initiated a purewater campaign. The movement
began in Hollis, New Hampshire, where the odor from the river was
reported to be so strong that the people could not sleep at night.
Petitions containing more than 600 signatures from the small town of
Hollis were sent to the Governor of New Hampshire with the request to
"take whatever action you deem will be the most effective in restoring
the Nashua River to something resembling its natural state." The peti-
tion also stated that the people of Hollis, New Hampshire, "are distressed
by the wanton pollution of the Nashua River with the resultant loss of
health, recreation and esthetic benefits."
The movement spread to Massachusetts. On August 17, 1966,
a large number of state legislators and officials from ten communities
bordering the Nashua River presented petitions listing over 6,000 names
to the Governor of Massachusetts and requested action in cleaning up
the Nashua River. Their statement concluded:
"The message is exceedingly clear. Commonwealth officials
and politicians should listen: The citizens in the towns along the
Nashua River can no longer be pacified by descriptions of impending
- 22 -
-------
6
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NORTH
NASHUA
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NASHUA
RIVER
DESIRABLE MINIMUM
60
50 40
MILES ABOVE MOUTH OF NASHUA RIVER
-n
25
TO
DISSOLVED OXYGEN
NORTH NASHUA & NASHUA RIVERS
JULY I, 1966
-------
legislation, promises and generalities. They are quite tired of hearing
politicians tell them about what is going to happen. Patience has been
exhausted. The willingness to suffer industrial and municipal waste
has run out. They will not be satisfied until pure water again flows
in their river."
BIOLOGICAL
Environments in which aquatic organisms live can be modified
by the introduction of man-produced pollution. Unpolluted watercourses
support many kinds of clean-water-associated bottom organisms such as
mayflies, stoneflies, alderflies, certain beetles and caddisflies.
Certain kinds of benthic fauna generally found in moderately polluted
environs include such forms as snails, craneflies, sowbugs and certain
midges and may be considered as forms of life intermediate in their
tolerance of pollution. Pollution-tolerant organisms, consisting of
sludgeworms, certain leeches, and midges with special respiratory
structures usually markedly increase in areas severely polluted with
organic wastes such as sewage. Stream conditions that permit the
development of an assemblage of clean-water-associated forms provide
food for fishes and prevent development of nuisance organisms in large
numbers•
Responses of aquatic organisms to domestic and industrial
wastes depend largely on the amounts and kinds of such materials entering
the environment of these organisms. One response is manifest by the
loss of a few kinds pf organisms that thrive only in clean water
-23 -
-------
environments, while those associated with mildly polluted waters increase
slightly in numbers. A more drastic response causes the disappearance of
all clean-water-associated forms and the development of pollution-tolerant
organisms often associated with sludges and slimes.
The results of biological surveys in the Nashua River Basin,
conducted in June and July of 1965, are shown in Figure 7.
The Whitman River upstream of Snows Mill Pond and above any
significant waste discharges exhibited many clean-water-associated bottom
organisms and showed that the stream was an excellent environment for
aquatic life. Downstream from the first series of paper mills, the bot-
tom of the North Nashua River was completely covered with paper fibers,
and the benthic organisms were drastically reduced from the pollution-
sensitive kinds found upstream of the paper mills to low populations of
pollution-tolerant organisms downstream (see Figure 7). This condition
existed until just upstream of the confluence with the South Branch of
the Nashua River where organisms tolerant to pollution began to increase.
Certain bacterial slimes (Sphaerotilus sp.) were found growing
in the North Nashua River. Under favorable conditions, these organisms
attach themselves to an underwater solid surface and grow as chains, or
filaments, of cells surrounded by a sheath. The filaments are encased
in gelatinous capsular material. A characteristic of the slimes is the
tendency of the gelatinous masses to become entwined with and cling
tightly to objects with which they come in contact in the stream, in-
cluding aquatic forms of life. In the absence of pollution by organic
materials, slime infestations will not occur.
- 24 -
-------
NORTH
NASHUA
RIVER
NASHUA
RIVER
UJUj
(O
Q
I
5000
LEGEND: ,
CH SENSITIVE
INTERMEDIATE
POLLUTION-TOLERANT
LU
50
40 30 20
MILES ABOVE MOUTH OF NASHUA RIVER
10
NUMBERS AND KINDS OF BENTHIC ORGANISMS, JUNE-JULY, 1965
FIGURE ?
-------
The South Branch below Clinton, Massachusetts, had 9,680
pollution-tolerant benthic organisms per square meter, reflecting the
existence of organic pollution from the Clinton sewage treatment plant.
Benthic fauna found in the Nashua River from Lancaster
to the Squannacook River indicated that this reach was grossly polluted.
Only a few kinds of pollution-tolerant organisms predominated.
Fourteen different kinds of benthic fauna were found on the
bottom of the Squannacook River upstream of the paper mills, the majority
of which types were sensitive to pollution. Downstream of the paper
mills no benthic organisms of any kind were found. The dissolved oxygen
of the overlying water was 2.3 mg/1 and the pH was 10.7 at the time of
sampling. This pH indicates an excessively alkaline condition.
With one exception at river mile 20.6, bottom samples in the
main channel between the Squannacook River and the St. Regis Paper Company
dam at East Pepperell contained no benthic organisms whatsoever. Dred-
ging generally released large volumes of gas from bottom sludges. Some
sheltered inlets to Pepperell reservoir, however, contained moderate
numbers of forms tolerant to organic pollution.
Six kinds of benthic fauna and 2,38? individuals were found
per square meter of stream bed in a riffle area, river mile 13.6, down-
stream of the St. Regis Paper Company, East Pepperell. Bottom sediments
here contained mostly sludgeworms and a few midge fly larvae, snails and
leeches. Red fibers blanketed the stream bed. Fibers such as these
clog respiratory surfaces, causing death by suffocation of certain
benthic fauna, such as caddisflies, mayflies and waterpennies, normally
-25 -
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found in the sediments of unpolluted riffle areas of this type.
Fibrous matter in the river 1.4 miles upstream of the Massachusetts-
New Hampshire state line was so abundant that the river resembled a thick
grey soup. Two to three inches of sludge covered the stream bed and piled
no to four inches high along the banks. Fibers like these clog the gills
of suspension feeders, such as mussels, clams and snails, leading to
eventual death by starvation and suffocation. Certain burrowing insect
fauna such as caddisflies and mayflies cannot tolerate such low oxygen
levels as found here (D.O. was 2.7 mg/1). Only a few midgefly larvae
(356 per square meter of stream bed) were found. Gross organic pollution,
in this portion of the Nashua River, prevented the development of all
the different kinds of benthic fauna normally found in a riffle area
such as this, except for the few midgefly larvae.
In a rapids area, river mile 9.9, four-tenths of a mile down-
stream of the Massachusetts-New Hampshire state line, sludges accumulated
along the banks and to a depth of six inches in pools below the falls
at Hollis Depot. Large numbers of benthic fauna, mostly sludgeworms
(3,110 worms per square meter), were found in sediments taken from this
area. There were eight different kinds of bottom life in these sediments,
including midge fly larvae, scuds, snails, leeches and sludgeworms.
Although this portion of the stream was still grossly polluted, there was
a greater variety of benthic fauna here than at the next upstream reach
in Massachusetts. Insect fauna such as certain stoneflies, caddisflies,
mayflies and certain beetles were not found in sediments here. Benthic
fauna of this type cannot tolerate the low oxygen levels (D.O. was 3.1
- 26 -
-------
mg/1) found here or the blanketing by the fibrous matter found in abun-
dance at this location.
During dredging of a ponded area, river mile 8.0, of the river,
2.3 miles downstream of the state line, sludge rafts and gases of anaerobic
decomposition rose from the stream bed. The water was slightly acid
(pH 6.75), and the dissolved oxygen concentration was 1.4 mg/1. This
portion of the Nashua River was in a zone of active decomposition. The
septic environment limited the benthie population to five kinds of fauna
and 1,002 individuals per square meter of stream bed. Midgefly larvae
and sludgeworms were the only kinds of bottom life found in stream bed
sediments. Certain rotifers (Conochiloides sp.) were found in large
numbers attached to the body surfaces of these midgefly larvae. By
decreasing respiratory surface area, these rotifers posed an additional
hazard to survival to even these pollution tolerant fauna. Rotifers
such as these were found on benthic fauna dredged from several sections
of the Merrimack River stream bed known to be grossly contaminated with
organic pollution.
Septic conditions also prevailed at river mile 3.9, and the
benthic population consisted of 2,624 midgefly larvae and sludgworms per
square meter of stream bed. No other kinds of benthic fauna were found
in the bottom sediments. The water appeared grey-black, and bottom sedi-
ments were black with a septic odor.
From an over-all biological standpoint, over sixty miles of
the North Nashua, Nashua, South Branch, and Squannacook Rivers are
grossly polluted. Not one organism sensitive to pollution was found in
- 2? -
-------
these reaches, as the present condition of the stream prevents the
development and growth of the sensitive forms. Even the pollution-
tolerant forms occur in limited numbers. Survival for benthic organisms
in the sludges, and on the sand and rocks of this river is an arduous
task for the hardy, and nearly an impossibility for those benthic fauna
such as certain mayflies, caddisflies and beetles which cannot resist
such excessive pollution.
Fish depend on bottom organisms for their food. If the fish
have not been killed or limited in their development directly by the
pollution, the lack of organisms that serve as fish food will limit the
fish indirectly. Sport fish depend on the type of organisms that grow
only in relatively clean waters.
In addition to the effect on the bottom fauna, the pollution
affects waterfowl in the Lancaster-Bolton area. There is much duck
hunting in the area but the birds are hunted mainly for sport. Few
ducks are eaten because of their bad taste, brought about by ingesting
pollutional materials. During the higher spring flows, the river over-
flows into the adjacent lowlands and deposits paper fibers. These fibers
tend to retard or smother the vegetation. Waterfowl development in the
area is, therefore, retarded because of the adverse environmental
conditions.
NUTRIENTS
With proper environmental conditions, a nuisance can be created
in a stream by large growths of algae or other aquatic vegetation. Aquatic
- 28 -
-------
plants can become so thick as to be esthetically displeasing and to
render the stream unfit for many uses. At times the algal growths are
killed and decay within or along the banks of the river, causing very
unpleasant odors. Dense growths of algae may not only have a direct
effect on water uses of a river, but may also reduce the dissolved oxygen
to levels that are below.the minimum required by aquatic life.
Oxygen is generated by the algae when there is sunlight, but
in the absence of sunlight, algal respiration depresses the oxygen
levels to low values. This may occur not only at night but also on
cloudy days.
Algae and other aquatic plants tend to develop in slow moving
streams when the concentrations of key nutrients that are required for
growth are present in sufficient amounts. Among the nutrients, nitrogen
and phosphorus have dominant roles.
A study of nutrient levels was carried out in the Nashua River
Basin during the period September 7-9, 1965. The results are shown in
Figures 8 and 9- Nitrogen and orthophosphate concentrations of the
North Nashua River increased substantially from wastes discharged in
Fitchburg and Leominster. Orthophosphate levels reached 8.1 mg/1 as
POi below Leominster, while total nitrogen increased to 5.2 mg/1 as
N. As was to be expected in a stream of this type since these nutrient
levels were far in excess of minimum concentrations needed to trigger
blooms, dense growths of algae and other aquatic vegetation occurred.
The algae began to grow in abundance in the Nashua River shortly down-
stream of the confluence of the North Nashua and South Branch Nashua
- 29 -
-------
Rivers and persisted all the way to the Nashua River mouth in Nashua,
New Hampshire. In Pepperell Pond and in the section of the Nashua River
near the soate line, considerable Lemna minor were found. These free
floating plants, commonly known as duckweed, form green blankets over
the water. As the nutrients are utilized by the algae and other aquatic
plants, the concentrations of the nutrients tend to be reduced.
The effect of algal growths on dissolved oxygen levels was
vividly demonstrated on the dark, rainy afternoon of August 30, 196A.
Samples were taken at a number of locations from the Squannacook River
to the mouth of the Nashua. Algal growths were observed throughout
this reach and at the majority of locations, the river was completely
devoid of oxygen.
To prevent excessive growths in the Nashua River, it is necessary
to sufficiently reduce at least one nutrient, such as phosphate, necessary
in the life cycle of the algae. Phosphates can be removed by special
treatment methods, from wastes discharged to the river.
APPARENT COLOR
Inorganic materials used to impart a whiteness to paper pro-
ducts cause turbidity in the receiving stream. This results in a milky
appearance of the river for many miles. In addition, some paper mills
discharge batches of wastes containing pigments or dyes which cause
unnatural stream colors. These materials completely destroy the beauty
of the stream from Fitchburg well into New Hampshire.
- 30 -
-------
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1LES ABOVE MOUTH OF NASHUA RIVER
NITROGEN
NORTH NASHUA & NASHUA RIVERS
SEPTEMBER 7~9 ,1965
-------
BOTTOM SEDIMENTS IN PEPPERELL POND
From Lancaster, Massachusetts, to the Massachusetts-New Hampshire
state line, the Nashua River flows through two impoundments. One impound-
ment is formed behind the dam located near Ayer, Massachusetts. The other
impoundment is formed behind the dam located in Pepperell, Massachusetts.
This latter impoundment is generally known as Pepperell Pond (Figure 10).
The dam is located at river mile 13-9, and the impoundment extends upriver
nearly to the mouth of the Squannacook River at river mile 22.9.
VOLUME OF SEDIMENT
In July 1965, a Peterson dredge was used to collect shallow
benthal sediments in Pepperell Pond from the Squannacook River to Pepperell
Dam. When the sediment depths exceeded two or three inches a core sampler
was used. The core sampler could measure depth up to four feet.
Pepperell Pond was divided into seven sections, as shown in
Figure 10. Four sections were selected in the main channel on the basis
of similar benthal sediments. The other three areas, including the Ox Bow,
were selected because they would have a small effect on the dissolved
oxygen (D.O.) in the pond. The Ox Bow area studied included only the water
area around Boutwell Island since the remaining part of the Ox Bow is
very shallow and stagnant, and has little effect on the water passing
through Pepperell Pond during lower flows.
A total of thirty cross sections were taken from the Route 111 and
119 bridge to Pepperell Dam. At most of these ranges, the depth of benthal
- 31 -
-------
sediments, as well as the hydraulic depth, was determined.
Additional work upstream of Route 111 and 119 showed that there
was very little organic material deposited between this location and the
Squannacook River, except along the banks where depths of one-fourth inch
were generally found. As the river made its way downstream and the pond
widened, the depth of benthal sediments increased, reaching a maximum of
three feet in the channel midway to the dam. The total volume of sediment
in Pepperell Pond was estimated to be 17 million cubic feet. Table 3
breaks down this volume by sections.
OXYGEN UTILIZATION BY SEDIMENTS
Sediment samples were collected at various points throughout the
pond. Specific gravity, per cent moisture, per cent volatile solids and
the Warburg oxygen demand were determined for each sample and averaged for
each section. The values appear in Table k.
The benthal sediments from Pepperell Pond had an oxygen demand
in a laboratory Warburg apparatus of k to 7 milligrams 0% per gram initial
volatile solids per day. These values were of the same magnitude as ob-
tained on aged sediment deposits in the Merrimack River. Other work with
Merrimack River sediments indicated that sediments that had been in place
for a period of time had an oxygen demand of approximately 1.0 gram per
square meter per day. This value appears to be reasonable for determining
the affect of benthal sediments in Pepperell Pond on overlying waters.
- 32 -
-------
LEGEND
- — » ^ <— C enter of Chonnel
m
Area not Included
in Calculations
Route Hi a 119
Bridge to Range 3
Ox Bow Area
Range 3
to Range 13
Out of Channel from
Range 10 to Range I?
(West Side)
Range 13
to Range 26
Out of Channel from
Range 13 to Range 20
(East side)
Range 26 to Dam
.-o-o:.'--.
••S/TSJsfev&S:
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PEPPERELL ''•:&&>;"'
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Scale l" = 200Oft
0 1000 2OOO
SECTIONS OF PEPPERELL POND
FIGURE 10
-------
TABLE 3
SEDIMENT DEPOSITS IN .tat'i'ttKELL POND
SECTION AND
RIVER MILE
*
Bt. Ill & 119
(RM 17.7) to Range 3
(RM 17.3)
Ox Bow area
(near RM 17.3)
1 Range 3 (RM 17.3)
8 to Range 13 (RM 15.8)
i
SURFACE
AREA
FT2 x 103
1*53
391
1,825
AVERAGE
HYDRAULIC
DEPTH, FT.
7.5
7.5
10.0
AVERAGE
SEDIMENT
DEPTH, FT.
0.25
3.5
0.33
AVERAGE
SEDIMENT
VOLUME
Fl3 x 106
0.11
1.4
0.60
West of Channel from
Range 10 (RM 16.3) to
Range 17 (RM 15.5)
East of Channel from
Range 13 (RM 15.8) to
Range 20 (RM 15.2)
In Channel from Range
13 (RM 15.8) to Range
26 (RM U.3)
Range 26 (RM U.3) to
Dam (RM 13.9)
830
3,800
6.0
3.0
7.5
12.5
2.0
0.17
3.0
1.0
3.0
O.lk
11.
-------
TABLE 4
OXYGEN DEMAND BY PEPPERELL POND SEDIMENTS
TOTAL Oc
TIME TO
OXYGEN DEMAND
u>
SECTION AND
RIVER MILE
Rt. Ill & 119
(RM 17.7) to
Range 3 (RM 17.3)
Ox Bow area
(near RM 17.3)
AVERAGE
SPECIFIC
GRAVITY
1.1*
1.17
AVERAGE
%
MOISTURE
U9.0
76.0
AVERAGE
% VOLATILE
SOLIDS
5.2
23.3
TOTAL 02
DEMAND,
mg/gm I.V.S.
90
50
DEMAND IN
REACH,
gm x 10°
11
127
OXIDIZE
SEDIMENTS,
YEARS*
0.7
9-6
ON OVERLYING
WATERS,
ppm/day*
0.5
0.5
CHEMICAL OXYGEN
DEMAND OF SEDI-
MENTS, gm x 1C)6
210
3,300
Range 3 (RM 17-3)
to Range 13
(RM 15.8)
1.12
West of Channel from
Range 10 (RM 16.3)
to Range 17 (RM 15.5) l.lU
East of Channel from
Range 13 (RM 15.8)
to Range 20 (RM 15.3 1.16
In Channel from
Range 13 (RM 15.8)
to Range 26 (RM 14.3) 1-19
Range 26 (RM 14.3)
to Dam (RM 13.9)
78.0
79.0
72.0
22.2
22.0
13-9
95
55
60
243
10.6
4.8
0.4
0.6
1.1
900
4,700
240
1.17
72.0
73.4
18.5
12.1
55
60
1090
34.7
8.5
1.9
0.5
0.3
20,000
1,800
*Based on rate of 1 gram Og per square meter per day.
-------
The cumulative Warburg oxygen demand was plotted against time
for each day over a ten day period. Based on the shape of the curve, it
could then be extended to approximate the ultimate oxygen demand. This
total oxygen demand is shown in Table 4 for each section, along with an
estimate of the time it would take to oxidize substantially all these
sediments. This time period ranges from 0.4 to 9.6 years.
In arriving at these estimates, further assumptions were made
that no more organic material would be deposited and that floods would
not scour the deposits from the bottom. Although the effect of present
sediment deposits would still be measurable for almost ten years after a
pollution abatement program, it is anticipated that a substantial improve-
ment will be apparent after two or three years.
In addition to the biochemical oxygen demand as found by the
Warburg test, the chemical oxygen demand of the sediments was determined.
The latter values include both biologically decomposible organic material
and biologically inert organic material. The chemical oxygen demand was
approximately twenty times greater than the Warburg values, indicating
that a substantial portion of the organic sediments are not biologically
degradeable and, therefore, will probably not exert an oxygen demand.
Using a rate of 1.0 gm/m2/day, the oxygen utilized from over-
lying waters varies from 0.3 to 1.1 parts per million per day, with an
overall value of approximately 0.5 ppm/day (Table 4). If there were no
fresh deposits after the installation of upstream waste treatment facili-
ties, the oxygen utilized would tend to decrease slowly with time because
of the decomposition of the organic materials in the sediments. Therefore,
-35-
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if Nashua River water entered Pepperell Pond with a satisfactory dissolved
oxygen level, the sediments would probably not reduce the oxygen below
the desirable minimum.
NUTRIENTS CONTAINED IN SEDIMENTS
The samples of bottom sediments obtained from Pepperell Pond
were analyzed for nitrogen and phosphate. The results are tabulated
in Table 5. Values are averages for each section. Dry weight nitrogen
ranged from 0.19 to 0.'95 per cent, while phosphate ranged from 0.22 to
0.45 per cent on a dry weight basis. The nitrogen-phosphate ratio was
0.9 to 3.8.
While the nitrogen values are of the same order of magnitude
as those commonly found in the sediments of lakes or ponds, the phosphate
content of Pepperell Pond sediments appears to be higher than normal for
bottom sediments. Some of the nutrients contained in the sediments could
diffuse into the overflowing waters.and increase the concentrations of
these nutrients in the water.
- 36 -
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TABLE 5
NUTRIENTS IN BENTHAL DEPOSITS OF PEPPERELL POND
SECTION AND NITROGEN, PHOSPHATE, N
RIVER MILE & DRY WEIGHT % DRY WEIGHT P
Rt. Ill & 119 (RM 17.7)
to Range 3 (RM 17.3) .19 .22 0.9
Ox Bow area (near RM 17.3) .70 .39 1.8
Range 3 (RM 17.3) to
Range 13 (RM 15.8) .79 .^5 1.8
West of Channel from Range 10
(RM 16.3) to Range 17 (RM 15.5) .95 .25 3.8
East of Channel from Range 13
(RM 15.&) to Range 20 (RM 15.2) M .27 1.7
In Channel from Range 13 (RM 15.8)
to Range 26 (RM 14.3) .55 .27 2.0
Range 26 (RM 14.3)
to Dam (RM 13.9) .36 .28 1.3
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FUTURE WATER QUALITY
Citizens living downstream from the sources of pollution
requested improvement of the water quality in the Nashua River Basin.
At a public meeting held September 17, 1964, at Lancaster, Massachusetts,
the Nashua River Study Committee pointed out that the people of the area
wish to use the Nashua River for recreational purposes. A communication,
shown in the Appendix, expresses the conclusions of the group and the
officials of the Town of Lancaster, Massachusetts, concerning the water
quality objectives for the Nashua River.
A typical reaction was expressed in a letter from a Leominster
Councillor to his United States Senator and Representative. The contents
of this letter, also shown in the Appendix, describe the obnoxious condi-
tions in the North Nashua River, which are a menace to the families of
North Leominster that live along the banks of this river. It was the
request of the Councillor that the river should be cleaned up immediately.
The campaign of the citizens of the Nashua River Valley in
New Hampshire and Massachusetts during the summer of 1966 has already been
reviewed. These people who live near the river have demanded that a high
state of water quality be achieved.
At a meeting held November 12, 1964, in Nashua, New Hampshire,
the Technical Subcommittee of the New England Interstate Water Pollution
Control Commission discussed the existing water quality of the Nashua
River. It was agreed that the North Nashua River was Class E, in nuisance
condition, from the Weyerhaeuser Paper Company discharge to the confluence
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of the north and south branches of the Nashua River. It was further
agreed that the Nashua River was in Class E condition from this confluence
to Hollis Depot, New Hampshire, and in Class D condition from Hollis
Depot to the mouth of the Nashua River. A chart showing the classification
system is presented in the Appendix.
On April 27, 1965, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the New
Hampshire Water Pollution Commission, and the New England Interstate
Water Pollution Control Commission agreed on a classification of the
Nashua River for future highest use. Flag Brook and Whitman River were
classified "B". The North Nashua River from the junction of Flag Brook
and Whitman River to the confluence of the north and south branches was
set at Class D for future highest use. The Nashua River was classified
"D" from the confluence of the north and south branches to the Harvard-
Bolton town line, 3.8 miles below the confluence. This river was then
classified "C" with the dissolved oxygen modified to four parts per
million from the Harvard-Bolton line to Unkety Brook, 0.9 miles upstream
of the Massachusetts-New Hampshire state line. The Nashua River was
classified "C", without modification, from Unkety Brook to its mouth.
With Class D waters only a minimum amount of dissolved oxygen
would be required to avoid septic conditions. According to the New
England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission classification
system, the Class D section of the river would not be suitable for
recreational use but would be suitable for transportation of sewage and
industrial wastes without nuisance. In addition, the Class C section
would restrict several uses. Therefore, if the stream is not better
- 39 -
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than the classification set by the state and interstate agencies, the
Nashua River system would be unsuitable for the uses desired by the
people of the towns along the river.
Some persons believe that, since the Nashua River flows through
the Fort Devens Military Reservation, there is little need to improve the
water quality in this reach. However, the Department of the Army has
indicated that use could be made of the Nashua River at Fort Devens if the
water quality were suitable. Because of the pollution, the Army cannot
make use of the river at the present time.
In considering the water quality of a stream, attention should
be given not only to present population, industrial discharges, and
water uses but also to future population, expansion of industrial capacity,
the possible introduction of new industries into the area, and potential
water uses expected to develop. Water quality should be sufficiently
high and waste loadings must be sufficiently low enough that economic
growth is not hindered and the maximum beneficial use is made of the
stream.
It is not acceptable to assign a portion of the Nashua River
system to a status where it is only "suitable for transportation of
sewage and industrial wastes without nuisance." This is especially so
since means are presently available to correct the pollution problem.
Waste discharges should, therefore, be controlled to allow economic
growth of the area and recreational use of the river. To achieve these
objectives, the principal controls should be placed on discharges of
suspended solids, materials causing biochemical oxygen demand, bacteria,
- IK) -
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phosphates, and true and apparent color. In addition, water quality re-
quirements which more truly reflect the future uses of the stream should
be applied.
Water uses which should be protected in the Nashua River from
Lancaster, Massachusetts, to the mouth in Nashua, New Hampshire, and the
South Branch Nashua River from Wachusett Reservoir to its mouth in
Lancaster, Massachusetts, include:
Industrial Water - Processing and Cooling
Recreation - Whole Body Contact
Recreation - Limited Body Contact
Military Training Exercises
Fish and Wildlife
Irrigation
Esthetics
Water uses which should be protected in the North Nashua River
from the confluence of Flag Brook and the Whitman River to the nouth at
Lancaster, Massachusetts, and the Squannacook River from the paper mill
dam at Vose Village to the mouth include:
Industrial Water - Processing and Cooling
Recreation - Limited Body Contact
Fish and Wildlife
Irrigation
Esthetics
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If the recommendations of this report (Part I — Summary,
Conclusions and Recommendations) are followed, water quality of suffi-
cient purity to accommodate the various water uses will be attained.
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SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
In accordance with the written request to the Secretary of
Health, Education, and Welfare from the former Governor Endicott Peabody
of Massachusetts, dated February 12, 1963* and on the basis of reports,
surveys, or studies, the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, on
September 23, 1963, called a Conference under the provisions of the Federal
Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 466 et seq.), in the matter of
pollution of the interstate waters of the Merrimack and Nashua Rivers
and their tributaries (Massachusetts-New Hampshire) and the intrastate
portions of those waters within the State of Massachusetts. The confer-
ence was held February 11, 1964, in Faneuil Hall, Boston, Massachusetts.
Serious pollution exists in the North Nashua River from the
outfall of the Weyerhaeuser Paper Company, Fitchburg, Massachusetts, to
the confluence of the north and south branches of the Nashua River at
Lancaster, Massachusetts; in the Nashua River from Lancaster to the mouth
of the Nashua River in New Hampshire; in the Squannacook River below the
dam at Vose Village; and in the South Branch Nashua River below Clinton,
Massachusetts. This pollution affects present and potential water uses.
Discharges from paper mills result in suspended solids, organic
matter causing biochemical oxygen demand, and materials causing apparent
color in the stream. By far the largest loadings emanate from the three
paper industries of Fitchburg, Massachusetts. Inadequate sewage treat-
ment, particularly at Fitchburg and Leominster, Massachusetts, contributes
-------
to the problem by causing excessive bacterial densities, suspended solids,
nutrients, and organic matter causing biochemical oxygen demand. Plastics
and metal fabrication industries also add suspended solids and materials
that cause biochemical oxygen demand.
Bacteria equivalent to those in the rav; sewage of approximately
2^,000 persons are discharged to the streams at present. Fitchburg and
Leominster, Massachusetts, contribute 90 per cent of the total. The coli-
form bacteria in the North Nashua River were as high as 680 times the
recommended maximum value of 5>000 per 100 ml for this stream. Pathogenic
bacteria were isolated in both the North Nashua and South Branch Nashua
Rivers.
Discharges of suspended solids create a severe problem in the
Nashua River. These materials cause deep sludge deposits which deplete
the stream oxygen supply, produce offensive odors and reduce or elimin-
ate aquatic life which serves as food for fishes. The suspended matter
also makes these once attractive waters appear turbid. Suspended solids
discharged to the Nashua River Basin are equivalent to those in the raw
sewage of 556,000 persons. Of these, nearly 92 per cent come from the
paper mills. It was estimated that 17 million cubic feet of sediments
have accumulated in Pepperell Pond alone.
Sewage and industrial wastes presently discharged have an esti-
mated biochemical oxygen demand population equivalent of 178,000, of which
the paper industries contribute 76 per cent of the total. As a result of
the reduction in dissolved oxygen, fish, fish food organisms and other desir-
able forms of aquatic life are destroyed. In addition, when dissolved oxygen
is reduced to zero, obnoxious odors are given off by the stream.
-------
Nutrients discharged to the Nashua River 3asin result in
excessive densities of algae and other aquatic plants, creating a nuisance.
These plants may die and decompose, causing unsightly conditions, obnoxious
odors and depletion of dissolved oxygen. In adcb'tion, in the absence of
sunlight, the algal respiration depresses the dissolved oxygen to low
levels—at times to zero. Fstimates based or. sewered population and
stream analyses indicate that 128,000 population equivalents of ortho-
phosphates are discharged to the Nashua River. Phosphates are key
nutrients which are readily available for the growMi of algae and other
aquatic plants.
As a result of the severely polluted condition of the Nashua
River, the people who live in the towns bordering the river in r-ew
Hampshire and Massachusetts petitioned the governors of the two states
to take immediate abatement action. mhe people demanded that the river
be restored to a high state of water quality.
The Nashua River system has been classified for future highest
use by the state and interstate agencies. The classification of the "orth
Nashua River and part :f the Nashua River was set at Class D. This will
only permit the river to be used for transportation of sewage and indust-
rial wastes without nuisance. Other portions of the river were set at
Class C. However, these classifications are not adequate as they do not
permit the development of recreational uses of the river that are desired
by citizens of the area, nor do they permit the quality needed by most
industrial uses.
-------
In addition to many other uses, the Nashua River can be used
at the Fort Devens Military Reservation for training exercises involving
rivers and for recreation when pollution is controlled. The sections of
the river forming the post boundary could be used for public recreation,
while the sections entirely within the reservation could be used for
recreation either by post personnel or by the public by permit.
Water quality requirements have been developed for various
sections of the Nashua River Basin. When these requirements are met,
additional use could be made of the waters of the area. Water uses that
would be permitted in the Nashua River from Lancaster, Massachusetts,
to the mouth in Nashua, New Hampshire, and the South Branch Nashua River
from Wachusett Reservoir to its mouth in Lancaster, Massachusetts,
include:
Industrial Water - Processing and Cooling
Recreation - Whole Body Contact
Recreation - Limited Body Contact
Military Training Exercises
Fish and Wildlife
Irrigation
Esthetics
Water uses that would be permitted in the North Nashua River
from the confluence of Flag Brook and the Whitman River to the mouth at
Lancaster, Massachusetts, and the Squannacook River from the paper mill
dam at Vose Village to the mouth include:
-------
Industrial Water - Processing and Cooling
Recreation - Limited Body Contact
Fish and Wildlife
Irrigation
Esthetics
If the recommendations of this report (Part I — Summary,
Conclusions and Recommendations) are followed, water quality of sufficient
purity to accommodate the various water uses will be attained.
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APPENDICES
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TOWN OF LANCASTER, MASSACHUSETTS ^
J> NASHUA RIVER STUDY COMMITTEE
1 Buttonwood Lane
Lancaster, Mass.
April 1, 1965
Mr. Herbert R. Pahren, Director
Merrimack River Project,DWSPC
U. S. Public Health Service
37 Shattuck Street
Lawrence, Massachusetts 01&V3
Dear Mr. Pahren:
We have received a letter from Mrs. Mildred E. Smith, Sanitary Engineer of the
Water Supply and Pollution Control Branch of the Department of Health, Edu-
cation and Welfare, in which she has stated that the department is interested
in the statement of the desired objectives for water quality of the Nashua
River.
After meeting with the Board of Selectmen of Lancaster, and in consequence of
earlier meetings with other officials of the Department of Public Health, our
committee has concluded that our ultimate objective would be Classification B
for the Nashua River. Our efforts along with proposed combined efforts of
other towns in the Nashua River Basin will be toward that objective. It may
interest you to know at this time that our committee is presently attempting
to organize on a regional basis, similar committees in all towns in the Nashua
River Basin with a view toward disseminating information regarding pollution
control and steps to be taken on the local level which will be helpful in
improving the condition of this River.
We would appreciate being advised of any new developments along pollution
control lines so that we may alert interested parties through our proposed
newspaper releases.
Thanking you for any assistance you can provide us in this regard, 1 remain.
Very truly yours,
John E. Burgoyne
Chairman
JEB:cp
- Al -
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COPY
93 Tolman Ave.
Leominster, Massachusetts 01^53
February 7, 1966
Senator Edward M. Kennedy
Washington, D. C.
Congressman Philip J. Philbin
2372 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D. C. 20515
Dear Senator and Represenative,
A very serious and vexing problem has plagued this Monachusett
region for years and this is the Nashua River. When you mention Nashua
River to anybody in this area their immediate reaction is to turn their
head the other way and rightfully so, because the obnoxious and vile smell
that emanates from this river would turn anybody's head.
A wide selection of colors is available in this highly polluted
stream as it meander's its way through Leominster and the surrounding
towns and the coloring in this water will change almost as fast as the
weather here in New England. A very serious menace to one's health exists
all along this highly contaminated river, and especially in those areas
where families live almost on the banks of this river, such as the Crawford,
Hamilton, and River St. complex in North Leominster.
A very large, new, shopping center, "Sear's Town," is about to emerge
on the banks of this once beautiful river and I know that the business
men who will occupy this area will be vitally interested in seeing that
- A2-
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- 2 -
something is being done about cleaning up and purifying this river. In
the past ten years or so, all kinds of plans were presented to cleanse
this river and to eliminate this unhealthy situation, but as yet the
results if any have been impossible to see.
In the past few weeks on radio, television, and the other news
media the word has been "CLEAN UP OUR POLLUTED RIVERS AND STREAMS."
I know of no better river to start with than the Nashua and it is
my desire and the people of Leominster's that the time to start is now.
After three years of drought here in the northeastern part of our
country, it seems a shame that so much water is wasted because of contam-
ination. I urgently request that you give this matter your most serious
attention.
I sincerely hope you will contact me on any progress and feel free
to call on me if I can be of any assistance, such as a tour or anything
else that would help in the solution of this perplexing problem.
Sincerely yours,
John B. McLaughlin
Councillor, Ward 1
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MASSACHUSETTS WATIR US1 CLASSIFICATKH
AID (HIALTTT STMDMBDS
Dissolved oxygen
Oil and grease
Odor, seta, floating
solids, or debris
Sludge deposit*
Color and turbidity
Phenols or other taste
producing substances
Substances potentially
toxic
Free acids or alkalies
Radioactivity
Coliform bacteria
CUSS A
Suitable for any water
use. Character uni-
formly excellent.
lot less than 79)1 sat.
•one
Hone
None
Hone
Hone
Hone
•one
CLASS B
Suitable for bathing
and recreation, irri-
gation and agricultural
uses; good fish habitat;
good aesthetic value.
Acceptable for public
water supply with
filtration and disin-
fection.
Standards of Quality
Hot less than 79)t sat.
•o appreciable amount
Bone
•one
•ot objectionable
Hone
Hone
•one
CLASS C
Suitable for recrea-
tional boating,
Irrigation of crops
not used for con-
sumption without
cooking; habitat for
wildlife and coanon
food and game fishes
indigenous to the
region; Industrial
cooling and most
industrial process
uses.
CLASS D
Suitable for trans-
portation of sewage
and industrial
wastes without nui-
sance, and for
power, navigation
and certain indus-
trial uses.
Hot less than 5 ppm
Hot objectionable
•one
•one
Hot objectionable
Hone
Hot in toxic con-
centrations or
combinations
Hone
Present at all times
•ot objectionable
•ot objectionable
•ot objectionable
•ot objectionable
Mot in toxic con-
centrations or
combinations
Hot in objectionable
amounts,
Within llaita approved by the appropriate State agency with consideration of possible adverse
effects in downstream waters from discharge of radioactive wastes; limits In a particular water-
shed-to be resolved when necessary after consultation between States Involved.
* Within limits ap-
proved by State De-
partment of Health
for use* involved.
Bacterial content of
bathing waters shall
meet limits approved
by State Department of
Health and acceptability
will depend on sanitary
survey.
* Sea waters used for the taking of market shellfish shall not have a median coliform content In excess of 70 per 100 ml.
NOTE: Waters falling below these descriptions are considered as unsatisfactory and as Class B.
These standards do not apply to conditions brought about by natural causes.
For purpose of distinction as to use, waters used or proposed for public water supply shall be so designated.
-------
HEW HAKPSH3BE WATER USX CLASSIFICATZCM
AMD QUALITY STANDARDS
»
Dissolved oxygen
Coliform bacteria
KPN/ 100 ml.
PH
Substances potentially
toxic '
Sludge deposits
Oil and grease
Color and turbidity
Slick, odors and surface-
floating solids
CUSS A
Potentially acceptable
for public water supply
after disinfection.
(Quality uniformly ex-
cellent.)
Mot less than 75% sat.
Hot more than 50
5.0 - 8.5
Hone
None
None
Not in objectionable
amounts.
None
CLASS
B-l
Acceptable for bathing
and recreation, fish hab-
itat and public water
supply after adequate
treatment. (High esthetic
value . )
Not less than 75% sat.
Not more than 2Uo
5.0 - 8.5
Not in toxic concentrations
or combinations.
Not in objectionable
amounts.
None
Not in objectionable
amounts
None
B
B-2
Acceptable for recrea-
tional boating, fish hab-
itat, industrial and pub-
lic water supplies after
adequate treatment.
(High esthetic value.)
Not less than 75% sat.
lot more than 1,000
5.0 - 8.5
Hot in toxic concentrations
or combinations.
Not in objectionable
amounts.
Not in objectionable
amounts.
Not in objectionable
amounts.
Hot in objectionable
amounts.
CLASS C
Acceptable for recrea-
tional boating, fish hab-
itat, and industrial water
supply. (Third highest
quality.)
Not less than 5 p. p.m.
Not specified
5.0 - 8.5
Not in toxic concentrations
or combinations.
Not in objectionable
amounts.
Not in objectionable
amounts.
Not in objectionable
amounts.
Not in objectionable
amounts.
CLASS D
Devoted to transportation
of sewage or industrial
waste without nuisance.
(Lowest classification.)
Present at all times
Not specified
Hot specified
Hot in toxic concentrations
or combinations.
Hot in objectionable
amounts .
Hot of unreasonable
quantity or duration.
Hot of unreasonable
quantity or duration.
Hot of unreasonable
quantity or duration.
I
VJI
I
NOTE: The waters in each classification shall satisfy all provisions of all lower classifications.
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LOCATMM PLAN
/MAS^ACH'ulfETTS.
/ 0 2
NASHUA RIVER BASIN
FIGURE
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