Communities within the Great Bay estuary watershed, which extends to more than 1,000 square miles, are coming together to improve its water quality.
The Great Bay lies at the junction of tidally driven salt water from the Gulf of Maine and fresh water from the Salmon Falls, Cocheco, Bellamy, Oyster, Lamprey, Squamscott, and Winnicut rivers. In recent years it has been at the center of a dispute over a permit to govern pollution control measures to move forward in improving water quality. Twelve communities discharge wastewater into areas that lead into the Great Bay. The nitrogen from these points has been linked to changes in the eelgrass meadows ecosystem.