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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Wicked Hot Mystic Maps Summer Heat

 Air Quality, Climate Change, Environment, Newsletter, Sept/Oct 2022  Comments Off on Wicked Hot Mystic Maps Summer Heat
Sep 092022
 
Wicked Hot Mystic Maps Summer Heat

Detail of a map of surface temperatures recorded by Wicked Hot Mystic, a collaborative project of the Museum of Science, Boston, in partnership with the Resilient Mystic River Collaborative (RMC), Mystic River Watershed Association, and the Metropolitan Area Planning Council. On August 12 and 13, 2021, over 80 volunteers joined MOS and MyRWA in measuring ground-level air temperature, humidity, and air particulate matter using special sensors mounted on cars and bikes. This data was collected August 12 at 3 pm. Note that the McLean conservation land is 10F cooler than surrounding areas.    For more information see www.mos.org/explore/public-events/wicked-hot-mystic

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Mystic Collaborative Plans For Climate Change

 Climate Change, Environment, March/April 2022, Newsletter, Open Space, Stormwater, Water Quality  Comments Off on Mystic Collaborative Plans For Climate Change
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]

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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 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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Clay Pit Pond Progresses from Eyesore to Asset

 Environment, Historic Preservation, History, Newsletter, November 2019, Open Space, Stormwater, Water Quality  Comments Off on Clay Pit Pond Progresses from Eyesore to Asset
Nov 042019
 
Clay Pit Pond Progresses from Eyesore to Asset

By Michael Chesson Clay Pit Pond on Concord Avenue was once the site of Belmont’s largest industrial enterprise, a brickyard run by John H. and Robert A. Parry. The brothers bought 20¾ acres of land in 1888 on Concord Avenue and Underwood Street, with its valuable blue clay that turned an attractive reddish color when fired, and their yard produced 200,000 bricks a week. Just as the oil, steel, and railroad industries consolidated, the Parry brothers’ business in 1900 merged with the New England Brick Company, which owned three dozen other brickyards in the region. The firm installed new dryers, [READ MORE]

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Globe Critique Spurs Town Sewerage Review

 March 2016, Stormwater  Comments Off on Globe Critique Spurs Town Sewerage Review
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]

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Winn’s Brook Gets “F” Grade for Health

 Newsletter, November 2015, Stormwater  Comments Off on Winn’s Brook Gets “F” Grade for Health
Sep 162015
 
Winn's Brook Gets "F" Grade for Health

People who visit the Mystic River and its tributaries have a new, more precise way to find out how healthy the water is near them. Last summer, the Mystic River Watershed Association (MyRWA) worked with the Environmental Protection Agence (EPA) to create a new location-based “report card” for the Mystic River. The grades are based on bacteria counts. The state has maximum allowable bacteria counts for swimming and boating. High bacteria counts result from illicit sewer discharges to storm drain systems and urban stormwater runoff. A higher grade indicates that the waterway complies with state standards; a lower grade means [READ MORE]

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10 Ways You Can Reduce Stormwater Pollution

 Newsletter, November 2015, Stormwater  Comments Off on 10 Ways You Can Reduce Stormwater Pollution
Sep 102015
 
10 Ways You Can Reduce Stormwater Pollution

The Mystic River Watershed Association suggests these 10 simple things that you can do to help reduce water pollution in your municipality: 1. Don’t litter: litter ends up in sewers, or in rivers and streams. 2. Practice organic lawn care: minimize the use of fertilizers and pesticides, especially where run-off may occur. 3. Conserve water: excess water in the sewage system can lead to sewage overflows into our waterways. 4. Always pick up pet waste, especially along riverbanks. Pet waste contains harmful bacteria that contaminate the rivers. 5. Use rain barrels to capture rainfall to use on your lawn or garden. 6. Never dump [READ MORE]

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