First Name:
Anna
Last Name:
Gannett
Major Department:
Sustainable Development
Thesis Director:
Michael Gangloff
Date of Thesis:
May 2014
Buzzards Bay is located in Southeastern Massachusetts in the lee of Cape Cod. Buzzards Bay is part of the National Estuary Program for its history of water quality problems (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2014). The declining health of Buzzards Bay may reflect recent increases in coastal development in the area. The majority of the nitrogen loading into Buzzards Bay is linked to sprawling residential and tourist development, and the widespread use of on-site septic systems (Costa et al., 1992). Water quality issues in Buzzards Bay have received attention for years because the area is an economically and culturally important tourist destination. The very ecosystem that the people living in the Buzzards Bay watershed have come to depend on is threatened by human activities. This study evaluates existing data for water quality parameters in Buzzards Bay and how these parameters relate to factors that can impact the health of aquatic ecosystems. Results of this study demonstrate the presence of low dissolved oxygen events during summer months of the past two years, which is of great concern for aquatic life in the Bay. Summer dissolved oxygen levels were found to decrease since 1992. Other results indicate overall increasing temperature, nitrogen and chlorophyll A trends since 1992. The data suggest that the overall water quality in Buzzards Bay is declining, and if the current trends continue, the local ecosystem and economy will suffer. Because low water quality is likely to negatively influence Buzzards Bay's productivity, increased attention to the issue is necessary for addressing the root problems.