Environmental Water Quality

The National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit issued to MWRA for the Deer Island Wastewater Treatment Plant requires us to extensively test and report on the water quality in and around the effluent outfall in Massachusetts Bay. MWRA measures nutrients, pathogens, solids, and the health of fish and shellfish in the water and sediments in Massachusetts and Cape Cod Bays, as well as Boston Harbor. Many monitoring reports are posted online.

Recent Monitoring Reports

Read the latest regulatory, technical and other reports here. Many of these are required by the NPDES discharge permit.

Technical Reports

These Massachusetts Water Resources Authority reports are focused on monitoring in Boston Harbor and Massachusetts/Cape Cod bays.

Search for Regulatory Reports

Many regulatory reports are mandated by the NPDES permit and include monitoring requirements, pollution prevention measures, and a Contingency Plan.

Regulatory reports are in compliance with the NPDES permit or other environmental regulations including the Deer Island Treatment Plant discharge permit. Recent Regulatory and Technical Reports summarize the data required from MWRA by the NPDES permit and other regulations.

Most reports are in PDF format, which requires the free Adobe Acrobat Reader. To request copies of reports contact the MWRA Environmental Quality Department: e-mail us or call (617) 242-6000. The contents of technical reports may be reprinted entirely, as long as a reference to source is included.