Save The North Mill Pond

Happy Independence Day! Have a safe holiday🇺🇸😷

Get out and vote on November 5th. Be informed.

As most of you may know, there is a project at City Hall to build 272 units on the North Mill Pond.

The physical environment of North Mill Pond is that of a shallow, urban, tidal pond. It receives freshwater inflow primarily from Hodgson Brook, which enters the pond from the southwest by passing under a bridge over Bartlett Street, and from storm drains and surface runoff along both northwest and southeast shores. The North Mill Pond also receives a substantial tidal flow during flood tides that enter the pond from the northeast under the bridge at Maplewood Avenue.
Formerly there were tide gates under the Maplewood Avenue bridge that were used to impound the water, with only occasional flushes. An auto accident in the 1950s destroyed the tide gates. By the early 1980s the North Mill Pond was slowly but visibly becoming a functioning tidal marsh again. Sightings of horseshoe crabs, clam holes, mummichogs, egrets, gulls, night herons, nesting wood ducks, and numerous small birds, especially on the mud flats at low tide, were noted with enthusiasm by some residents.
North Mill Pond is and has been a central part of Portsmouth’s commercial and residential development. However, despite being literally right in the backyards of much of the citi­ zenry of Portsmouth, the North Mill Pond is a largely unknown entity to most people. In the past, little research had been done on the health or dynamics of the pond, and limited data existed on what kinds and degrees of pollution were impacting it.
The land surrounding the North Mill Pond is among the most significantly impacted in the Portsmouth region, as it was one of the first areas to experience industrial develop­ ment. The northern shore of the pond and its immediate headwaters has had residential development for over a century, with impacts from both runoff and sewer/septic leakage. Changes to the Pond’s features include its initial impoundment to provide mill power, and substantial filling of its saltmarsh on the southern shore for rail lines and commercial development.
Current industries affecting the pond include (former) seafood processing, (former) marine contracting, salt storage, and ongoing freight rail operations. The former Pease Air Force Base (now Pease International Tradeport) encompasses the headwaters of Hodgson Brook. With the closure of the base, numerous toxic contamination sites are being remediated and monitored as part of a Superfund process, but up until now, no testing of waters and sediments off-base in Hodgson Brook had been done. Recent use of urea for de-icing at the airport has led to increases in nitrates in groundwater there, though it is unknown what affect its use has been on surface waters. Additionally, a major fire in May, 1991 that destroyed Ricci Supply, located on the southwest corner of the pond, could have had a significant contam­ ination impact on the pond.
Another more obvious former impact on the health of the North Mill Pond is the presence of accumulated rubbish and industrial waste along the shores and mudflats of the pond. The former dumping had an impact on the ecology of the pond, and used to clearly detracts from the aesthetic quality of the area and symbolizes the general abandonment of the space by adjacent businesses and the community. While volunteer shoreline cleanups were conducted during the past two summers along the railroad right-of-way, there remains a quantity of heavier and less accessible material
mudflats, etc., as well as further contributions by construction type materials.
Despite its former degraded state, the pond remains a significant habitat for shorebirds, fish and other estuarine life. Growing interest from nearby residents in furthering public awareness and taking on greater stewardship of this resource resulted in the formation of Advocates for the North Mill Pond (ANMP) in February of 1997.

In addition to hosting annual trash clean-ups, ANMP recognized a need for baseline data on the existing ecological health of the pond to determine opportunities and priorities for pollution abatement and restoration of the pond’s aesthetic and ecological qualities.
With former funding from the New Hampshire Estuaries Project, the New England Grassroots Environmental Fund, the Greater Piscataqua Community Foundation, and the City of Portsmouth, ANMP initiated a water quality monitoring and pollution source identification program, along with a natural resources survey for the North Mill Pond. Additionally, estab­ lishment of Great Bay Watch (GBW) monitoring sites at the mouth and headwaters of the North Mill Pond has filled a critical data gap in GBW’s knowledge of the waters of the Estuary.

This project has also produced an ecological baseline that can be used as a refer­ ence in the ongoing remediation/restoration of the Pond and adjacent waters being carried out as part of the New Hampshire Port Authority Expansion Project.

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In addition, the 272 unit project has created a focal point for greater citizen awareness and involvement in preserving/enhancing the Pond’s resources for the future of the city.

...friends, with all of the planned construction, what is going to happen to the North Mill Pond ecosystem?

As most of you may know, there is a project at City Hall to build 272 units on the North Mill Pond. This page has been created to build an awareness about the project and to voice your opinion.