How Provincetown, Massachusetts used Porous Pavement to Reduce Beach Closures Caused by Stormwater Discharges

Provincetown, Massachusetts has significantly reduced beach closures along Provincetown Harbor through a comprehensive multi-year stormwater management program. The most recent improvements addressed organic (bacterial) and non-organic loadings from untreated stormwater runoff from Commercial Street, which provides primary access to the Harbor and hundreds of businesses. The challenge of treating stormwater from this narrow and highly traveled corridor was solved by reconstructing the road using porous pavement lain over a stone reservoir bed. Two summers have passed since completion of the first phase of the project, and the reduction in the number of beach closures is significant .On average, over ten closures per season were experienced prior to 2011. Based on the water quality testing program, there were no beach closures during the summer of 2013 and only three beach closures in 2014—all at the outer edges of the project improvements.