Marine Resources Committee hears CSO map, elevated E. coli in Northeast Creek and plans for Hadley Point eelgrass monitoring

Committee members heard a report from Shellfish Warden Chris Johansen that mapped 2025 Combined Sewer Overflows and identified the storm drain from Cromwell Harbor Road across Main Street as having the highest flows; Johansen said that result likely reflects the drain’s proximity to the sewage treatment plant and that he has been coordinating with a new Public Works Water Division employee on CSO matters.

Chris Petersen, the committee chair, described a town-sponsored volunteer sampling effort in the Northeast Creek watershed funded by grant money and said many E. coli results were elevated. Petersen told members the committee has not yet received the consultant’s full report and has invited Hailey Bondy of the town’s Planning Office to brief the committee when the results are complete. He compared the current sampling to a 2011 study he conducted in the same creek.

The minutes record additional related items: a proposed Hadley Point eelgrass study led by Kara Gadeken in collaboration with Seagrass.net is expected to begin in July and run through August, and the committee flagged Northeast Creek as a priority area for Comprehensive Plan work on water quality. Public comment included David Dunton noting a discrepancy in his conservation-hour tally and Jacques Seronde observing a marked decline in Hadley Point eelgrass since 2010; Rachel Dragon said an injury had limited her conservation hours but that she planned to resume participation.

The committee listed several upcoming citizen science and cleanup events (Clark Cove shellfish survey, Hadley Point beach cleanup, COA green crab survey) and discussed partnering with the Harbor Committee and regional fishermen’s groups for a Working Waterfront assessment workshop. The committee did not take regulatory action at the meeting; it awaits the consultant report on Northeast Creek and scheduled future briefings.