EPA Pushes for Alewife Sewage Cleanup

 Environment, May/June 2023, Newsletter, Sewers, Stormwater, Water Quality  Comments Off on EPA Pushes for Alewife Sewage Cleanup
Apr 262023
 
EPA Pushes for Alewife Sewage Cleanup

By Kristin Anderson and David White We are at an important point in the history of the Alewife Brook. The Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) and the cities of Cambridge and Somerville are preparing a new long-term sewage control plan for the Alewife Brook/Upper Mystic River Watershed. Climate change, with its wetter rainy season, more intense storms, and sea level rise, is expected to result in more hazardous Alewife Brook sewage pollution and more flooding in the area. During some storms, the Alewife Brook floods into the houses, parks, and yards of area residents in environmental justice communities. Because of [READ MORE]

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Alewife Brook, Little Pond Get D Grades Again

 Environment, Newsletter, Sept/Oct 2022, Sewers, Water Quality  Comments Off on Alewife Brook, Little Pond Get D Grades Again
Sep 092022
 
Alewife Brook, Little Pond Get D Grades Again

By Meg Muckenhoupt In 1972, the Clean Water Act called for all waterways to be “fishable and swimmable” by 1983, and for all pollution discharges to end by 1985. That still hasn’t happened, as is shown by the new annual water quality report card issued by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for the Mystic River in July. All of Belmont’s brooks received a D or D+ grade because they failed to meet state E. coli bacteria standards for boating in 45% to 55% of samples taken in 2021. Site 2021 2014 Grade Total Grade Total Alewife Brook D 47% D [READ MORE]

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Belmont’s Watersheds Cross Many Boundaries

 Environment, May/June 2022, Newsletter, Sewers, Water Quality  Comments Off on Belmont’s Watersheds Cross Many Boundaries
May 052022
 
Belmont’s Watersheds Cross Many Boundaries

By Anne-Marie Lambert Here in Belmont, we live on the edge of two large watersheds—the Mystic River watershed and the Charles River watershed. Understanding our role in these watersheds is more important than ever as storms in the Northeast grow more intense and more frequent, and as the rise in Atlantic Ocean sea levels starts to affect the underground water table.  The lack of alignment between our political maps and the topography of our watersheds can make it tricky to understand Belmont’s role. In the flat low-lying areas of town where there isn’t much gradient, waters flow in directions that [READ MORE]

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Fifty Million Gallons of Sewage Released

 Climate Change, Environment, January 2022, Newsletter, Sewers, Stormwater, Water Quality  Comments Off on Fifty Million Gallons of Sewage Released
Jan 032022
 
Fifty Million Gallons of Sewage Released

Discharges to Alewife Brook Have Persisted for Two Decades By Kristin Anderson and David White Fifty million gallons of sewage-contaminated stormwater have been discharged into the Alewife Brook from the cities of Cambridge and Somerville in 2021, according to websites for those two cities and the Metropolitan Water Resources Authority (MWRA) for the Alewife/Upper Mystic Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO). There has been as much sewage-contaminated water discharged into the Alewife Brook in 2021 as there was in 1997 before the implementation of a $200 million plan to modernize the area’s antique combined sewer systems.  Pollution persists in the Alewife sub-watershed [READ MORE]

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Belmont Has One Year to Clean up Waterways

 Environment, May-June 2021, Newsletter, Sewers, Water Quality  Comments Off on Belmont Has One Year to Clean up Waterways
May 042021
 
Belmont Has One Year to Clean up Waterways

By Anne-Marie Lambert A 2017 consent order from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)  gave Belmont five years to stop underground sewage from leaking into our waterways. We made a lot of progress in 2020, but there could be a long way to go before all our outlets run clean. In 2020, the town undertook a $550,000 sewer system rehabilitation construction project (SSRCP). More work is planned in 2021 under a sump pump removal and sewer rehabilitation contract. The SSRCP included significant work such as: Repairing and lining several sewer mains Lining many sewer service laterals Removing a few sewer [READ MORE]

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2021 Select Board Candidate Answers BCF Questions

 Bicycles and bike paths, Bike Paths, Board of Selectmen, Climate Change, Environment, March/April 2021, Newsletter, Open Space, Select Board, Sewers, Stormwater, Traffic, Transit, Water Quality  Comments Off on 2021 Select Board Candidate Answers BCF Questions
Mar 012021
 
2021 Select Board Candidate Answers BCF Questions

Each year, the Belmont Citizens Forum asks Select Board candidates questions about issues facing our town. This year, Mark Paolillo, who is running unopposed, provided answers. He was limited to 1,200 words. Describe your vision for preserving and enhancing Belmont’s quality of living, learning, working, and connecting. Preserving and enhancing Belmont’s quality of life must begin with making town finances stable and sustainable. This will require a more in-depth approach to long-term structural reform.  Belmont should consider the use of performance management budgeting which measures resource input against the resulting output of services for each department. That will help us [READ MORE]

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Carrots and Sticks Nudge Belmont’s Cleanup

 Environment, Newsletter, November 2020, Sewers, Stormwater, Water Quality  Comments Off on Carrots and Sticks Nudge Belmont’s Cleanup
Nov 062020
 
Carrots and Sticks Nudge Belmont’s Cleanup

By Anne-Marie Lambert Two key drivers are nudging Belmont to clean up our waterways and protect us from the storms coming with climate change: the threat behind an Environmental Protection Agency Consent Order and the tempting Massachusetts Municipal Vulnerability Program (MVP) Every six months, Belmont is obliged to file a report with the New England region of the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to demonstrate compliance with a 2017 consent order under the Clean Water Act. The town has to show steady progress cleaning up the sewage pollution Belmont has sent to Boston Harbor due to the intermingling of Belmont’s [READ MORE]

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Belmont Waterways Get Failing Grades

 Newsletter, Sept/Oct 2020, Sewers, Stormwater, Water Quality  Comments Off on Belmont Waterways Get Failing Grades
Sep 032020
 
Belmont Waterways Get Failing Grades

By Meg Muckenhoupt The Mystic River’s most recent water quality report card, released on August 13, gives Winn’s Brook an F for 2019—and the Little River and Alewife Brook earned Ds. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) creates the  annual report card in collaboration with the Mystic River Watershed Association. It grades segments of the Mystic River’s lakes, river, and streams on how frequently they meet bacterial standards for swimming and boating. The Upper Mystic Lake and the Chelsea River got an A grade; they met boating and swimming standards 90% or more of the time in 2019. Winn’s Brook [READ MORE]

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Cleaning Belmont’s Water Means More Work

 Environment, May/June 2020, Newsletter, Sewers, Stormwater, Water Quality  Comments Off on Cleaning Belmont’s Water Means More Work
May 032020
 
Cleaning Belmont's Water Means More Work

By Anne-Marie Lambert There is good news and bad news in Belmont’s January 31 Report on Compliance to the EPA. On the one hand, the town decided to go ahead and reline or replace many sewer laterals and rehabilitate significant sections of the sewer system in certain Belmont neighborhoods as part of a comprehensive construction project planned for spring 2020. On the other hand, the report indicates that while there was a lot of investigation work (dye testing and sampling) and design work between July 2019 and January 2020, there was no significant mitigation work during the fall construction season. [READ MORE]

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Belmont Timeline

 Bicycles and bike paths, Bike Paths, Board of Selectmen, Historic Preservation, History, January 2020, Newsletter, Open Space, Parking, Sewers, Traffic, Water Quality  Comments Off on Belmont Timeline
Jan 062020
 
Belmont Timeline

Belmont Timeline Featuring events significant to the Belmont’s history and Belmont Citizens Forum issues. 1654 The John Chenery house, 52 Washington Street, is built. The Chenery house is the oldest surviving house in Belmont. 1760 The Thomas Clark House is built on what is now Common Street. “Local tradition maintains that the Clark family witnessed the beginning of America’s War for Independence from the hill behind this house, seeing smoke and hearing the sounds of war breaking out on April 19, 1775.” —Joseph Cornish, BCF Newsletter,  January 2011. It was moved in 2012, and finally demolished in 2014. 1805 “Ice [READ MORE]

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