The Martha’s Vineyard Commission announced Friday that the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection awarded two grants totaling $380,000 to the commission’s water resources department.
The funds will be allocated towards preparing watershed management plans, conducting water quality analysis, and increasing capacity-building opportunities, according to the Martha’s Vineayard Commission (MVC).
Out of the Island’s 15 major coastal ponds, the commission identifies nine of them as “impaired” due to excessive nitrogen levels. High nitrogen concentrations in water can cause large growths of algae known as algal blooms, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. These blooms often decrease or eliminate the oxygen in the water, resulting in fish deaths and increased levels of toxins and bacterial growth.
“The addition of these funds represents a new opportunity for MVC to strengthen existing partnerships and establish new relationships that benefit all communities on the Vineyard,” the MVC said in a statement. “This announcement underscores MVC’s firm commitment to reducing non-point source pollution and safeguarding our valuable natural resources.”
Each town on the Island has at least one impaired water body, according to the MVC.
