November 14, 1997

Battelle recently was awarded a $7.7 million contract by the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) to manage the organization's Harbor Outfall Monitoring III Program.

The work will be conducted from Battelle's laboratory in Duxbury, Mass., which specializes in technology-based environmental consulting and marine monitoring and assessment.

MWRA's Boston Harbor project is a $4 billion, 11-year program to construct new wastewater treatment facilities at Deer Island. The treated wastewater - 1.3 billion gallons a day - will be discharged through a 9.5-mile effluent outfall tunnel into the deep waters of Massachusetts Bay. The 24-foot diameter tunnel is the largest single entry tunnel in the world.

Battelle has extensive experience in ocean monitoring, having conducted landmark programs in the Atlantic, Pacific, Gulf, and Alaskan coasts, as well as the Mediterranean and South China seas.

Battelle will conduct one of the most comprehensive monitoring and assessment programs of its type in the nation. This will include documenting the environmental benefits of MWRA's pollution abatement program, and verifying that the outfall discharge does not adversely impact Massachusetts Bay. Battelle scientists, who helped design the monitoring program, will provide data analyses and interpretation to MWRA.

The monitoring elements of the program will address:

• Eutrophication impacts through monitoring of nutrient, phytoplankton, and zooplankton dynamics in the bay.
• Benthic impact through assessment of soft- and hard-bottom benthic organisms.
• Chemical studies to assess the input of contaminants from the effluent and other sources, and to determine the fate of effluent in sediments.
• Pathogen and virus studies to determine the transport and fate of sewage-related organisms in the bay and Boston Harbor.
• Fish and shellfish studies to determine the level of contaminants in important commercial and recreation species, such as lobster and flounder. The health of these species will be assessed as related to ecological and human health issues.
• Data management and interpretation program that will provide data and information to regulators, the public, and scientific community.

Battelle serves industry and government by developing, commercializing, and managing technology. With a wide range of scientific and technical capabilities, Battelle puts technology to work for clients in 30 countries.