Herring River (Wellfleet, Massachusetts)
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| Herring River Tributary to Wellfleet Harbor | |
|---|---|
  Location of the mouth of the Herring River | |
| Location | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Massachusetts |
| Counties | Barnstable |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | Gull Pond |
| • location | about 2 miles northeast of Wellfleet, MA[1] |
| • coordinates | 41°57′36″N 070°00′34″W / 41.96000°N 70.00944°W[2] |
| • elevation | 6 ft (1.8 m) |
| Mouth | Wellfleet Harbor |
• location | Wellfleet, Massachusetts[1] |
• coordinates | 41°55′30″N 070°03′28″W / 41.92500°N 70.05778°W[2] |
• elevation | 0 ft (0 m) |
| Length | 4.93 mi (7.93 km)[3] |
| Basin size | 7.52 square miles (19.5 km2)[4] |
| Discharge | |
| • location | Wellfleet, MA |
| • average | 11.7 cu ft/s (0.33 m3/s) at mouth with Cape Cod Bay[4] |
| Basin features | |
| Progression | generally west |
| Population | 2,360 (2010)[5] |
| Tributaries | |
| • right | Bound Brook |
Herring River is a river in Wellfleet, Massachusetts that includes a tidal estuary. As of 2014, there are plans and funding in place to restore the river, after the construction of a dike across the river in 1909 as a mosquito control project severely hampered the health of the estuary.[6][7]
In 1909, a dike was constructed at the mouth of the Herring river in Wellfleet harbor. This project blocked tidal flows into the river that are critically important for the survival of species that inhabit the estuary for the purpose of exchanging fresh oxygen and nutrients into the estuary.[6] Over the course of the next several decades, the health of the Herring River estuary declined. As the tides in the estuary have lowered, the marsh itself has sunk 2–3 feet itself.[8] Prolonged oxidation of the marsh causes decomposition of vegetation and peat which leaches sulfuric acid into the water. This toxicity is harmful to aquatic life in the area.[9][10]
With the lack of an incoming tide, oxygen depletion in the water of the estuary has led to fish kills and likely contributed to the decline in herring run once seen in the river. The lack of tidal flushing also has given rise to high bacterial concentration in the water, likely from fecal matter of native species. In turn, this contamination of fecal coliform has made shell fishing, a major industry of the nearby town of Wellfleet, prohibited in the river and restricted near its mouth.[9][11]