Mystic River Watershed Association – Belmont Citizens Forum

EPA Pushes for Alewife Sewage Cleanup

Environment, May/June 2023, Newsletter, Sewers, Stormwater, Water Quality Comments Off

Apr 262023

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]

Alewife Brook, Little Pond Get D Grades Again

Environment, Newsletter, Sept/Oct 2022, Sewers, Water Quality Comments Off

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]

Mystic Collaborative Plans For Climate Change

Climate Change, Environment, March/April 2022, Newsletter, Open Space, Stormwater, Water Quality Comments Off

Mar 032022

Mystic Collaborative Plans For Climate Change

By Julie Wormser Once upon a time, images of climate change featured skinny polar bears on melting ice floes, and hot, dusty desertscapes. Tragic for sure, but also very far away in time and space. Not any more. Last summer’s alarming weather—from 120 temperatures in the Pacific Northwest to record flooding rains here in the Northeast—has brought the immediate effects of climate change into sharper focus and more local concern. In Greater Boston, the most likely risks we need to prepare for are: flooding from intense rainfall and coastal storms/sea level rise, hotter, drier summers, less predictable winter weather, and [READ MORE]

Fifty Million Gallons of Sewage Released

Climate Change, Environment, January 2022, Newsletter, Sewers, Stormwater, Water Quality Comments Off

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]

Stormwater Threatens Our Waterways

Environment, Newsletter, November-December 2021, Stormwater, Water Quality Comments Off

Nov 012021

By Michelle Liebtreu and Daria Clark The Mystic River is cleaner today than it has ever been. The Clean Water Act has been a major environmental success story. But the work is not yet done. As the most urbanized watershed in New England, the Mystic River watershed is especially subject to stormwater pollution, one of the leading sources of pollution in our water today. Stormwater pollution, also known as stormwater runoff, occurs when rain falls over land—driveways, lawns, and streets—picking up fertilizer, dog waste, salt, leaves, and trash. That polluted water flows into the nearest storm drains and catch basins, [READ MORE]

Events September 2021

BCF Events, September 2021 Comments Off

Aug 232021

By Meg Muckenhoupt The only constant in life is change, according to Heraclitus, the Greek philosopher who strolled through Ephesus in the late sixth century B.C.E. The Greek letter most commonly used to represent change is delta, which is also the title of the variant of the coronavirus that is more contagious than previous versions and has persuaded the town of Belmont to mandate indoor masking. So, instead of posting a page of fall walks, fundraising galas, hands-on classes, film screenings, talks, and volunteer opportunities, the Belmont Citizens Forum Newsletter’s event listings once again offer the thin milk of online [READ MORE]

Belmont Roots May/June 2021

BCF Events, Environment, May-June 2021, Newsletter Comments Off

May 042021

Now that the weather is at least occasionally balmy, local organizations are contriving new events that bear some resemblance to past years’ experiences. You may not get the thrill of the crowd cheering as you finish a race, or the warm glow of watching other concerned citizens clearing garbage from your favorite outdoor spaces, but you will get out of your home. The Charles River Watershed Association’s Annual Run of the Charles has “a virtual twist” this year. Register for the fundraising 5K or one of five different paddling races any time before Sunday, May 23. You and your paddling [READ MORE]

Belmont Roots September 2020

Arts & Culture, BCF Events, Environment, Newsletter, Sept/Oct 2020 Comments Off

Sep 032020

By Meg Muckenhoupt Well, it’s fall, and most meetings are still being held via screens and speakers. I’m sorry. There are still some things you can do alone, or sitting on your couch, that might help you understand and improve the world. The following organizations are offering a variety of virtual events. These are highlights: Mass Audubon is holding several online classes this fall, including Identifying Hawks in Flight (Wednesday, September 9, 7–8:30 PM, $20 member/ $24 nonmembers), Beginner Birdwatching (eight classes beginning Thursday, September 10, 7–8:30 PM, $100 members/ $120 nonmembers), and Nature Writing (two classes beginning Thursday, October [READ MORE]

Globe Critique Spurs Town Sewerage Review

March 2016, Stormwater Comments Off

Mar 142016

Globe Critique Spurs Town Sewerage Review

By Anne-Marie Lambert and Frank Frazier Have you seen the sewer today? This past summer, a Boston Globe editorial (“Belmont Needs to Clean Up Its Act,” August 14, 2015) caused the Belmont selectmen to request a presentation on the town’s sewer and storm drain systems. Belmont’s director of community development Glenn Clancy welcomed the opportunity. He took issue with Globe author Alan Wirzbicki’s comparison of Belmont’s $8 million in sewer expenditures dating from a 1998 Notice of Violation from the EPA. He cited the expenditures of Cambridge and Revere, both of which have much more significant pollution issues than Belmont. [READ MORE]

Cambridge Redirects Runoff from 400 Acres

January 2016, Newsletter, Stormwater Comments Off

Jan 122016

Cambridge Redirects Runoff from 400 Acres

Cambridge Sewer Separation Makes Alewife Brook Cleaner By Anne-Marie Lambert On December 21, 2015, Cambridge celebrated a major milestone of the Alewife Sewer Separation project, a massive public works that separates sanitary sewers from storm sewers. When these two types of sewers are connected, heavy storms drive raw sewage into local waterways such as the Alewife Brook—as has been happening at the Brook for decades. As of December 21, the city will now provide water quality treatment of stormwater runoff from more than 400 acres of the urbanized Huron Avenue and Fresh Pond neighborhoods by directing it to the 3.4-acre [READ MORE]

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