82 



Most of New Bedford's sewage discharges at the tip of Clarks Point 

 today. This may be an important factor affecting local water 

 transparency because the resulting plume offshore is conspicuous on all 

 aerial surveys obtained, and the 100-200 m wide plume is visible often 

 stretching 1000' s of m into the waters of the neighboring town. In the 

 past, more than 170 pipes discharged along shore as well (New Bedford 

 Town Hall Report) . Prior to 1970 many of these outfalls were in use and 

 received both industrial waste and street runoff. Others were tied in 

 to the sewer-street drain system, and during periods of high rains, 

 sewage was discharged diverted to them as well. 



Today, no eelgrass grows in New Bedford Harbor-Acushnet River or 

 Clarks Cove, except for a bed at the tip of Clarks Point and south of 

 Moshers Point {Appendix I) . The absence of eelgrass is not due to 

 salinity limitations because fresh water discharge by the Acushnet River 

 is not large. Furthermore, eelgrass grew elsewhere along the coast 

 prior to the construction of the hurricane barriers, including around 

 Palmers Island in the inner harbor, and around cotton mill discharge 

 pipes at the northeast shore of Clarks Cove (B. Burke, New Bedford 

 shellfish warden and James Costa, pers comm.). The construction of the 

 barriers may have contributed to the loss of some eelgrass and potential 

 eelgrass habitat because several km of beach and shallow shoals were 

 eliminated, and tidal flushing was reduced in the inner harbor. 



Ten different aerial surveys since 1944 were obtained that 

 included this area, but it was difficult to document changes in eelgrass 

 abundance on these photographs for several reasons. This area was 

 urbanized prior to the wasting disease, and on the earliest photographs. 



