In 2017, the proposed Massachusetts Year 2016 Integrated List of Waters removed the Concord River from list of water bodies impaired for phosphorus. This decision by the state was based on data that showed that that the level of total phosphorus in the river had declined to near-background levels. In 2018, the Integrated List will be using quality-controlled data collected by OARS’ Citizen Science program for the Sudbury, Assabet and Concord rivers.
In 2017, OARS celebrated the installation of a handicapped-friendly kayak dock at Ice House Landing in Maynard, in an impoundment on the Assabet River formerly clogged by noxious aquatic vegetation. This is the result of municipalities investing in advanced phosphorus removal at their wastewater treatment plants to comply with stringent nutrient controls in NPDES permits issued by the EPA and MassDEP under the Clean Water Act. The Mass. Dept. of Conservation and Recreation funded the dock as part of a Blue Trails project by OARS.