Westborough looks to better protect wetlands

Westborough - Next month, Westborough residents will vote on a proposed bylaw that will take protection of local wetlands a step further than state laws.

A Special Town Meeting is scheduled for Monday Oct. 20. Edward Brady, chair of the Conservation Commission, said that at the meeting a booklet laying out the new bylaw will be distributed to voters and a presentation will be made. Brady said the new bylaw is especially important to all residents because much of Westborough is swampland, and the town has had its share of flooding problems, and wetlands absorb runoff during storms.

"Everybody [in Westborough] lives downstream," Brady said.

Coastal and freshwater wetlands in the state have received protection since the Massachusetts Wetlands Act was enacted in the 1970s. That law requires buff er zones during construction projects. Since then, many towns and cities have passed their own bylaws to enhance the act, like Westborough is seeking to do.

Wetlands provide a number of important functions, acting like a sponge to filter pollutants and recharge groundwater in wells. They also filter water that is fed into larger rivers, like the Sudbury River, which starts in Westborough.

If the bylaw is adopted, the Conservation Commission will have the authority to specify new regulations that pertain to development. Although construction companies will have the same 100-foot buff er zones between building sites and wetlands, new setbacks and nondisturbance distances will likely be created. A copy of the proposed bylaw and an overview of the handout are available at www.westborough.ma.us/Public_ Documents/index.

Westborough Assistant Conservation Office r Dere k Saari said new setbacks are necessary because the buff er zones do not mean that a resident or company cannot pave or build within 100 feet of a wetland, only that a permit is required to do so. Saari hopes that some new limits will be introduced so new construction will no longer abut Westborough wetlands.

"Is a big misconception [that construction is not allowed within a buffer zone]," Saari said. "If that was true, half of the homes would never have been built … We're looking to do a setback towards the upland to try to get some separation from the wetlands' edge."

Saari pointed out that no new regulations have been set, and that voter approval will simply give the Conservation Commission the ability to make new rules. Permits are issued through the town of Westborough and are overseen by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection.

Dr. Margaret Carroll, chair of the Biology Department at Framingham State College, believes bylaws are imperative, both for the health of residents and the existence of endangered species that make their homes in Massachusetts wetlands. Two important species are the wood turtle and the blue spotted salamander.

"We have a state wetlands protection act that does off er good protection to the wetlands, and many communities have added an additional bylaw," Carroll said. "We're talking about really important protection for our drinking water."

Also, silt that is churned up during construction can wash into wetlands, which can ultimately choke the ecosystem.

"You kind of have this big cycle of depletion," Carroll said.

Westborough voters with questions about the proposed bylaw can contact Derek Saari at 508-366-3015.