What We Do

Most people think Bass River starts at Follins Pond, but the headwaters, a key element of the river's health, lie further west - past the narrows at Crab Creek, past Mill Pond and Hamblins Brook -to the west of Union Street in Yarmouth Port where freshwater springs emerge and trickle under the roadway & into Miss Thachers Pond.

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When you hear one of our founders, The Reverend Mark Anshutz speak about the River dying he isn't exaggerating. The river itself isn't dying, but over the last half a century it has become an estuary where no one wants to live - except tourists & those of us lucky enough to call this place home.

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What is the MEP Report?

Here at Friends of Bass River we like to talk in acronyms. We call ourselves FOBR and we carry around with us a copy of the MEP Report. When we meet other professionals interested in the health of the river, they take out their dog-eared copies of the MEP Report and we have a geek-fest (well, some of us do, anyway). So you ask - what is the MEP Report?

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The Mass Estuaries Project was created in 2001 "to help determine current nitrogen loads to southeastern Massachusetts estuaries and evaluate reductions that would be necessary to support healthy ecosystems."

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The MEP studied 70 estuaries along the southeast coast of Massachusetts & for each area they set out to determine the Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) of nitrogen that can be handled by the estuary & still support a healthy ecosystem.

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In addition to setting a TMDL goal for each estuary they made recommendations on how communities can achieve this target number. This includes the creation and implementation of a Comprehensive Wastewater Management Plan.

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