Letters to the Editor November 2021

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 the culvert under Brighton Street through which Clay Pit Pond drains into Blair Pond in Cambridge has obstructions, though I’m doubtful that it does. It’s also possible that the culvert draining Blair Pond under the railroad tracks and into the continuation of Wellington Brook has obstructions. This leads me to suggest other possible actions:

Ask the Belmont Department of Public Works when was the last time they inspected that culvert (likely not at all) and whether they could please inspect it for obstructions. Even without obstructions, there has been flooding at Clay Pit pond, but obstructions would make it worse. Copy the Belmont Conservation Commission.

Ask the Cambridge Department of Public Works to inspect the culvert draining Blair Pond under the railroad tracks and into the continuation of Wellington Brook for obstructions. Copy the Cambridge Conservation Commission.

Regarding the grate behind the library: the Department of Public Works (Jay Marcotte) has been very responsive to requests to clear the grate, which they do several times a year anyway.  My observation over the years is that while it can look bad, in fact the water flows pretty well there even when there are a lot of branches and leaves piled up.

As a side note, I am curious if you know when the Armenian church was built and what went into the decision to select this location. Perhaps I’m too much of a romantic, but I am curious if the proximity to a brook was a factor in deciding on this location originally. 

In any case, the 1972  Clean Water Act resulted in regulations which no longer allow buildings and impervious surfaces like parking lots to be so close to a water body as the church and library are without significant review and mitigation of the effects on water quality. I’m assuming all these buildings went in before 1972. EPA regulations today also make it difficult to redirect a brook the way Wellington Brook was redirected,  e.g., with granite slabs to make it possible to build the library, or with culverts to send it through the abandoned clay pit in order to address issues related to stagnant water there. We are all living with history in so many ways.

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To the Editor:

Please pass along my thanks to Jefferey North for his helpful article about Norway Maples in the September/October edition of the Belmont Citizen Forum.

I have one of these trees next to my driveway and my relationship with it is vexed!   

I like the shade, but as Mr. North notes, the tree does not seem to attract any birds. However, my biggest issue with my Norway maple is its ardent enthusiasm for “self-pruning.” Its habit of losing branches has cost me two trips to the autobody shop.My insurance company must think I am an idiot for parking there, but I don’t have a choice because the tree is on the part of my property next to the road that the town might “own.” In other words, it may not be MY tree to take down.

In my efforts to ask the town to resolve the question of whether this is, indeed, “my” tree, I have learned that Belmont’s Department of Public Works is friendly and well-meaning about accessing and replacing trees but woefully behind schedule and under-budgeted.   

I am curious to learn what Mr. North knows about the process of working with the town to take down and replace troublesome trees.

Bayard Klimasmith

Jeffrey North responds:

Your letter and query underscore the need for a full-time tree warden in Belmont such as is employed by all of our neighboring towns. I am fairly confident in saying that the town does not engage in elective surgery for trees that are troublesome but not imminently dangerous. I suggest you direct further queries to DPW director and interim tree warden Jay Marcotte at 617-993-2680.