Buzzards Bay National Estuary Program

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Buzzards Bay Watershed and Resources Maps

Sub-pages:   Watershed Definition |  FEMA Flood Maps

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General Note the Buzzards Bay watershed and subbasins

The Buzzards Bay basin delineation for the watershed we use represents the jurisdictional boundary of the Buzzards Bay National Estuary Program as defined in the Buzzards Bay Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan adopted by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the US EPA in 1992. It differs from the Buzzards Bay jurisdictional boundary adopted by some other programs within the Commonwealth, which omit Cape Cod in the Buzzards Bay "watershed" for various political or regulatory reasons. In addition, the major basin in the Wareham-Plymouth-Bourne adopted by the Buzzards Bay NEP was based on groundwater delineations and recommendations from USGS, and differs from land surface topography delineations adopted by some other programs. Finally, the subbasins on Cape Cod have been adopted from the Cape Cod Commission's best and most recent delineations, and differ somewhat from those adopted by the Buzzards Bay NEP in 1990. These issues are described more fully on our Buzzards Bay Watershed Definition web page.

The subbasin coverages employ the same Buzzards Bay watershed NEP. The BBNEP first used an early 1990s version of the subbasins developed by USGS and MassGIS, but the Cape Cod Commission updated these in the late 1990s. The Buzzards Bay NEP adopted these at that time, and these are represent in the maps to the right. In 2007, DEP, the Massachusetts Estuaries Project, and the Cape Cod Commission again revised the subbasin boundaries based on more recent information. These new subbasin boundaries have not yet been publicly disseminated. In the BBNEP maps, areas within 1 km from the bay or lower rivers are cross-hatched and defined as high N contribution zone in our preliminary assessments of nitrogen loading. These maps will be superseded as more of the Massachusetts Estuaries Project reports become available.

Buzzards Bay watershed and subbasin lines used by the BBNEP

Buzzards Bay watershed major basin boundaries. (zipped GIS shape file updated 2006)
Buzzards Bay sub-basin boundaries. (zipped GIS shape file updated 2006)
These are the basin and sub-basin coverages employed by the Buzzards Bay NEP. They differ from the MassGIS data layer in that it includes Cape Cod, and because the area of towns of Plymouth, Wareham, and Bourne is based on groundwater elevations (appropriate for glacial outwash and moraines), and not land use topography. The Cape Cod sub-basins are identical to those adopted by the Cape Cod Commission, but with some additional subdivided areas. The northern watershed boundary is based on groundwater contours, and was developed in partnership with the USGS, and adopted by the Buzzards Bay NEP in 1991. It differs from the MassGIS boundary for the Buzzards Bay watershed. which is based on land surface topography, and which does not include Cape Cod. It was modified in the late 1990s based on Cape Cod Commission redelineation of watersheds. This version was last adjusted in 2006 based on Massachusetts Estuaries Project data for Cape Cod, reassessment of areas in Westport and Rochester, and other information. The "HN" coverage represents a presumed "high nitrogen contribution zone." More information about these coverages can be found on our Nitrogen Management origins page

Other Maps and Data

Don't forget to look at our Nautical Charts page.


Looking for 2000 US census data on Buzzards Bay towns?:

Download entire demographic data report for all Massachusetts Towns from the US Census Bureau (3.3 MB pdf file)
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