Stormwater – Belmont Citizens Forum

How to Save Our Soil and Waterways

Climate Change, May/June 2025, Newsletter, Sewers, Water Quality Comments Off

Apr 292025

By Anne-Marie Lambert It takes a village to clean up our waterways and rejuvenate the soil beneath our feet. I have been soaking in this topic for over a decade, studying the town’s annual reports describing efforts to eliminate pollutants leaking into our waterways and thinking through what makes a real difference. Step one is to care enough about the communities and ecosystems that we are a part of to realize that clean waterways and healthy soil matter. In the 1970s, citizens cared enough that Congress passed the Clean Water Act. This new regard for clean water resulted in regulations [READ MORE]

Buy Rain Barrels to Conserve Water, Environment

March/April 2025, Stormwater, Water Quality Comments Off

Feb 272025

Buy Rain Barrels to Conserve Water, Environment

By Dean Hickman I have seven rain barrels, three around a detached garage and four around the house. Needless to say, I am a proponent of the humble rain barrel. These barrels collect water when it rains and provide “soft” chlorine-free water for the garden, including my fruit and vegetable plots when it’s dry. Some folks even wash their cars and windows with collected rainwater. Rain barrels include a spigot so you can access the water, and a mesh mosquito barrier. Rain barrels are not only a water conservation tool; using rainwater instead of your domestic water supply will also [READ MORE]

How to be a Biodiversity Builder

Environment, May/June 2024, Open Space, Plants, Stormwater, Water Quality Comments Off

Apr 302024

by Jean Devine An open mind, eagerness to learn new things, a willingness to work with peers from different schools, and a tolerance for hot weather, a bit of rain, and getting dirty are all it takes to be a Biodiversity Builder. Youth don’t join Biodiversity Builders (BB) to fill out their resume. They join because they’re curious about nature and maybe gardening, they worry about climate change, and they want to do something positive to help the planet. Youth who become Biodiversity Builders learn how to solve environmental and societal challenges, get down and dirty removing invasive plants and [READ MORE]

Beavers vs Us: Who Manages Stormwater Best?

Environment, May/June 2024, Newsletter, Open Space, Stormwater Comments Off

Apr 302024

Beavers vs Us: Who Manages Stormwater Best?

By Anne-Marie Lambert There’s a lot of complexity but not much bureaucracy involved when beavers take action to manage stormwater. Beavers don’t follow many rules and regulations to slow down a brook’s flow to a prescribed amount or filter pollutants like phosphates or nitrates. They don’t submit maintenance plans for what they will do differently when large rainstorms or new pollutants arrive. Beavers don’t wait for permit approvals or make decisions based on a checklist of laws and regulations. Beavers have evolved to build their homes across brooks to create whole new ecosystems that support many species that have evolved [READ MORE]

Profiles in Belmont: Julia Blatt

Environment, January 2024, Newsletter Comments Off

Jan 052024

by Elissa Ely Shortly after the pandemic began, when the only response within anyone’s control was isolation, Julia Blatt and her husband bought kayaks. They had canoed as a family for more than 30 years—Montana, Idaho, Maine, Colorado, Florida, Vermont, New Hampshire—and for years her professional work had taken her kayaking through the Concord, Sudbury, and Assabet rivers. Sometimes she brought politicians with her (a form of visual education) and sometimes it was a form of solo field research. But this was different. The sky doesn’t know a pandemic is raging; birds and turtles have no idea and less interest. [READ MORE]

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]

Belmont’s Watersheds Cross Many Boundaries

Environment, May/June 2022, Newsletter, Sewers, Water Quality Comments Off

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]

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]

Belmont Awarded Climate Change Grant

Environment, January 2022, Newsletter, Stormwater Comments Off

Jan 032022

By Jeffrey North Belmont has received a $195,000 Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) grant from the Massachusetts Climate MVP Program to identify Belmont’s current and future stormwater flooding risks from climate change. The project, known as the Stormwater Flood Reduction and Climate Resilience Capital Improvement Plan, will include the development of a 2-D stormwater model to assist in locating flood risk areas and evaluating how to make those areas more resilient. The primary goals of this project are to understand the town’s vulnerability to flooding and climate change on a street-by-street basis using an enhanced town-wide 2-D drainage hydraulic model, and [READ MORE]

Watershed Modeling Enhances Flood Resilience

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

Jan 032022

Watershed Modeling Enhances Flood Resilience

By Julia Hopkins and Julie Wood Climate change isn’t coming—it’s here. Sea-level rise, drought, blistering heat; the tangible effects of global warming are already happening in Massachusetts, and our highly urbanized watershed and those who call it home are increasingly vulnerable to its impacts. It also means extreme weather and severe inland flooding are some of the greatest threats to our watershed and our lives. In the northeastern United States, precipitation during heavy rain events increased by more than 70% according to the Fourth National Climate Assessment released in 2018. This trend is expected to continue as our climate warms. Today’s [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]

Letters to the Editor November 2021

Climate Change, Newsletter, November-December 2021, Stormwater Comments Off

Nov 022021

Dear BCF, I live on Clarendon Road and am a town meeting member. The church I attend on Concord Avenue (the First Armenian Church) flooded last week overflowing (Wellington Brook, I presume). The public library next door almost flooded, I am told. What can you tell me about this situation, what do you advise, and is there a town plan in place to mitigate this? Thank you, David Boyajian We asked Anne-Marie Lambert, author of several BCF articles on flooding in Belmont, to respond. Below is an excerpt from her answer, edited for length and clarity. It’s worth checking whether [READ MORE]

CRWA Works to Keep the Charles River Clean

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

Nov 012021

CRWA Works to Keep the Charles River Clean

By Julia Hopkins and Lisa Kumpf Have you ever thought about what happens to that rain when extreme storms hit? If you call Belmont home, it ends up in the Charles or the Mystic River. The town of Belmont is sandwiched between the Charles and Mystic Rivers, two beautiful, fragile natural resources that provide habitat for wildlife and enjoyment for humans. The town is split between the Charles River watershed and the Mystic River watershed. A watershed is a land area that channels all rain and snowmelt into ponds, brooks, and streams that drain into a single river, and eventually [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]

How to Help Belmont Survive Climate Change

Climate Change, Environment, March/April 2021, Newsletter, Open Space, Stormwater, Water Quality Comments Off

Mar 012021

How to Help Belmont Survive Climate Change

by Anne-Marie Lambert Flooding caused the collapse of the Trapelo Road culvert over Beaver Brook in 2010, and inundated the train tracks at the Waverley MBTA commuter rail station. Belmont is expected to see its share of future big intense storms, extreme heat, and other disasters from climate change. If it’s any comfort, our town now has a preparedness plan, thanks to a state-funded program. The Town of Belmont Hazard Mitigation-Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness Plan identifies local vulnerabilities to flooding, pollution, and traffic jams, and proposes mitigating actions, short-term and long-term, to help vulnerable populations safely shelter from extreme heat, rain, [READ MORE]

Rock Meadow Design Wins International Award

Environment, January 2021, Newsletter, Open Space, Parking Comments Off

Dec 312020

Rock Meadow Design Wins International Award

By Jeffrey North The Town of Belmont and the Belmont Conservation Commission congratulates Northeastern University Civil and Environmental Engineering graduates Samantha Kinnaly, Kate Engler, Annie Lamonte, and Emma Totsubo on the recent awards for their design of the main entrance and green infrastructure stormwater management at Belmont’s Rock Meadow conservation area. The project was developed during the spring 2020 capstone course under the supervision of Professor Annalis Onnis-Hayden of the Civil and Environmental Engineering department in partnership with the Belmont Conservation Commission. (See “New Rock Meadow Parking Plan Proposed,” Belmont Citizens Forum Newsletter, May/June 2020.) Their project won first place [READ MORE]

Carrots and Sticks Nudge Belmont’s Cleanup

Environment, Newsletter, November 2020, Sewers, Stormwater, Water Quality Comments Off

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]

Belmont Waterways Get Failing Grades

Newsletter, Sept/Oct 2020, Sewers, Stormwater, Water Quality Comments Off

Sep 032020

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]

New Rock Meadow Parking Plan Proposed

Air Quality, Environment, July-August 2020, Newsletter, Open Space, Parking, Plants, Stormwater, Traffic, Water Quality Comments Off

Jun 302020

By Jeffrey North and Mary Trudeau The Belmont Conservation Commission recently engaged a team of Northeastern University students to explore parking lot and stormwater drainage improvements for Rock Meadow. As visitors to Rock Meadow can attest, the parking lot is inefficient, rutted, partially paved, and often filled with pockets of standing water. Improvements have been called for since at least 1968, when the report, A Program for Renewing Rock Meadow, stated the obvious: “The entrance is not attractive and does not do justice to the beautiful area beyond.” The arrival experience is incongruent with Rock Meadow’s value as a treasured [READ MORE]

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