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Lawmakers Hear Testimony on Bill to Add Oversight for Brockton’s Diversion from Silver Lake
Summary
Witnesses told the committee that Brockton’s long-standing diversion from Silver Lake is harming the Jones River watershed and that the 1964 emergency law authorizing the diversion needs modern oversight to protect flows and fish runs.
House Bill 984, filed to add ecological considerations to long-standing water diversions from Silver Lake, drew testimony that Brockton’s current withdrawals are stressing the Jones River watershed and its returning herring runs.
Proponents told the Joint Committee on Environment and Natural Resources that the emergency law enacted in 1964 allows Brockton to draw water from Silver Lake but does not require up-to-date consideration of environmental impacts on downstream systems. Matt Panella, conservation agent for the town of Kingston, told the committee, “The safe yield of Silver Lake was established in 1900 as 4,300,000 gallons per day.” He said Brockton currently takes “an average of 10,000,000 gallons per day from…
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