The Health and Environment Committee of the Cambridge City Council will meet on Tuesday afternoon, September 9th. They will discuss ways to improve the city’s Sewage Pollution Control Plans. For Alewife Brook, a meaningful plan means a 25-year level of control* for Cambridge’s Combined Sewer Overflows (CSOs). Cambridge’s CSOs dump the most raw sewage into Alewife Brook during rain storms.
You can help! Please send a written comment by email or come to the meeting in person or via streaming.
Create your email to City Council here:
Tell the Council your personal story. Explain why ending sewage pollution is important to you. Ask the Council for action to End to Sewage Pollution by 2050. Ask them for a plan that includes a combination of:
- Complete Sewer Separation by 2050.
- Green Stormwater Infrastructure.
- Underground Combined Sewage Storage Tanks.
- Engineer a 25-year level of control for the year 2050*
* A 25-year level of control is what engineers often refer to as “virtual” combined sewage elimination. It means that there are no sewage discharges, except in a really big storm that occurs roughly every 25 years. Today’s “25-year storm” has a 4% chance of occurring in any given year, statistically expected once every 25 years. That means around 6 inches of rain in 24-hours, according to the most current rainfall model (NOAA Atlas 14).