For details on enjoying each watershed, click below:

Find a body of water to explore in one of Barnstable's watersheds

Paddling the Eel River in the Eel River Watershed

Find an event with the Herring Ponds Watershed Association

Your map for adventure in the Jones River Watershed

Explore the Narragansett Bay Watershed with Save the Bay

Recreation on water and land in the Neponset River Watershed

Recreation with NSRWA or on your own in the North and South Rivers Watershed

Fishing, swimming, and boating in the Pembroke Watershed

Fishing and boating in Long Pond in the Six Ponds Watershed

Where to recreate in the Taunton River Watershed

Paddle a boat in the Weir River Watershed

here we'll describe how people can support their local watershed group and why it matters.

What We Can Do:

•  Water conservation at home and at work means less need to excessively pump groundwater. It is inexpensive and does not require meaningful changes in lifestyle. Click here to see what you can do at home to conserve water.
• SOLUTIONS FOR DEALING WITH IMPERVIOUS SURFACES?
• Treat wastewater locally and discharge it back to the ground or to surface water upstream of the water supply wells or reservoirs it came from. New public wastewater treatment plants, and those wishing to expand their capacity, should be required to discharge their treated “effluent” strategically so that it replenishes water supplies and adds to stream flows. Sewers leading to large, centralized treatment plants should rarely be extended. A better alternative is “spot sewering,” where wastewater from malls, office parks or entire neighborhoods is sent via small sewers to a nearby “package treatment plant” for local disposal. For homes, wastewater can also be safely treated and returned to the aquifer by using well maintained septic systems (assuming adequate yard size and proper soil conditions); in the long term it’s usually much cheaper than paying sewer bills.
• Recycle wastewater for additional uses. Treated wastewater — particularly “greywater” from showers and sinks — can also be used to irrigate lawns and plants or as “cooling water” in air conditioning systems. Even wastewater from urinals in large buildings can be cleaned and used again (as it is at Gillette Stadium and at the Wrentham Mall, among many others).
• Fix infiltration of groundwater and inflow of rainwater into old sewer pipes. Infiltration is groundwater that enters a sewer system through cracked, crushed or leaky pipes, joints and manholes. Inflow is rain or surface water that enters the sewer system, generally through illegal connection of things like sump pumps and roof drains. Infiltration and inflow (known as “I/I”) not only steal huge amounts of water from water supplies and waterways, it reduces sewers’ carrying capacity so that in big rainstorms raw sewage may spill out into streets, lawns, basements and waterways. People living in communities with I/I also pay far more than they need to in sewer bills.

ARE THERE MORE INFORMATIONAL RESOURCES ON THIS?