Sewer Separation and Green Infrastructure is the Solution.

During intense rains, Cambridge discharges tens of millions of gallons of raw sewage into Alewife Brook through combined sewer pipes. Parts of the city still have an antiquated sewer system that combines rainwater and sewage into a single pipe. Cambridge’s old combined sewer system is a relic from the 1800s when open sewers were common.

Combined Sewer System Diagram Source: Jersey Waterworks

The solution to ending raw sewage discharges in the brook is to complete modernizing the city’s sewer system. This means separating the sewage from the stormwater, from a single combined pipe into two pipes. Sewage then goes to the Deer Island Sewage Treatment Plant every day of the year. A second pipe sends stormwater flows into wetlands to be naturally cleaned before entering Alewife Brook.

Sewer Separation in Cambridge is Feasible

Ending sewage pollution at Alewife Brook is necessary because of health impacts in such a densely populated and flood-prone area. Sewer separation in Cambridge is feasible and necessary to achieve an end to sewage pollution at Alewife Brook. Half of the sewer separation in the Alewife Brook watershed was accomplished by 2015.¹  That sewer separation work also resulted in the 3.4 acre Alewife Stormwater Wetland to handle the separated stormwater.  But the work was not completed, and Alewife sewage discharges continue to be in violation of a court order. This means that the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority is on the hook to pay for the lion’s share of sewer infrastructure work.²

There are 188 acres of combined sewers left that flow from Cambridge into Alewife Brook. Sewer separation also requires reducing stormwater surges (aka: attenuation) to prevent area flooding. The good news is there are 12 acres of public parkland for new wetlands to hold stormwater flows from sewer separation. In fact, the state’s 2003 Alewife Master Plan recommends using Department of Conservation & Recreation parkland for stormwater wetlands. The estimated cost of 188 acres of sewer separation is $100,000,000. The time to complete planning and construction is approximately 15 years or less. 

188 Acres of Combined Sewer in Cambridge, Tributary to Alewife Brook

We created an interactive map with combined sewer pipes in orange and arrows showing sewage flows. 188 acres of sewer separation were identified that drain to Alewife Brook from Cambridge. Note: we did not include the Charles River watershed, nor areas in Somerville. 

Map of remaining combined sewer pipes that drain to Alewife Brook in Cambridge shown in orange. Alewife Raw Sewage Outfalls are depicted as red dots.

Available Public Space for Stormwater Wetlands

DCR recommends wetlands projects in their 2003 Alewife Masterplan,³ to be sited next to Little River and Alewife Brook. These wetlands recommendations are on state parkland, shown below.

Section of Planning Map from DCR’s Alewife Masterplan shows recommendations for wetlands in yellow, green, and blue.

There are 12 acres of parkland next to Alewife Brook and Little River in DCR plans for wetlands. This is enough space for three more constructed stormwater wetlands. It is enough space to support complete sewer separation for Cambridge’s combined sewer pipes now flowing into to Alewife Brook. The areas for stormwater wetlands are shown below in purple. According to the Massachusetts Stormwater Handbook (2008, Vol. 1 and Vol. 2)  this is adequate sizing for constructed wetlands to treat this volume of stormwater.

Screenshot of map, showing available public parkland to site constructed stormwater wetlands.

As a comparison, the Alewife Constructed Stormwater Wetland is 3.4 acres within state DCR land. It receives stormwater from 211 acres. This beloved Stormwater Wetland is a project that is included in the state’s 2003 Alewife Masterplan.

Slide from the City of Cambridge, presented to the Alewife Zoning Working Group.

$510,000 Per Acre Cost of Sewer Separation

According to MWRA’s Chief Operating Officer, the cost of sewer separation is  $510,000 per acre.⁴ At Alewife Brook, the cost of completing 188 acres of sewer separation in Cambridge is $100,000,000.

In the next 10 years, MWRA will finish paying off about $2.1 billion in long-term bonds.⁵ Because this old debt is coming off the books, MWRA can issue around $2.1 billion in new bonds without a shock to water and sewer rates for households. 

Time to Complete Sewer Separation: 15 Years

From MWRA’s CSO Control Plan Progress Update, March 2007.

Boston Water & Sewer Commission separated 355 acres of combined pipes in 9 years.⁶ This includes time to design and then construct. It’s reasonable to plan for the same amount of time in Cambridge for sewer separation. An additional 5 years should be added for planning and construction of stormwater wetlands. Therefore, sewer separation and Green Stormwater Infrastructure can be completed in 15 years.

Sewer Separation is the Answer

Sewer separation in Cambridge is feasible in terms of technical achievability, cost/affordability, and the ability to meet water‑quality and permit requirements within a reasonable timeframe. Cambridge has done it before in the Huron / Concord neighborhood which sends stormwater into the Alewife Stormwater Wetland.

A fifteen-year project with investment on the order of $100M is well within the capabilities of the MWRA. CSOs can be eliminated through sewer separation. Stormwater can be biologically cleaned by stormwater wetlands. Stormwater wetlands can also reduce flooding.

Footnotes

1. https://savethealewifebrook.org/2025/11/22/massdep-tells-mwra-back-off#half-done ↩︎
2. From the Second Stipulation of the Harbor Court Case.  https://www.mwra.com/media/file/031506bhpqrpdf Page 3. “Upon completion of the long-term CSO control plan and with results that demonstrate performance parameters are as predicted, the stipulation makes the Authority responsible for only those CSO outfalls which it owns and operates.” ↩︎
3. https://savethealewifebrook.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/masterplansouth.pdf
   More guidance from DCR is provided here: https://www.mass.gov/guides/dcr-master-plans#-alewife-master-plan-(2003)-
   https://www.mass.gov/doc/findings-and-recommendations/download
   ↩︎
4. MWRA’s August 2023 letter to EPA regarding its Update to the Financial Capability Analysis for variances. https://www.cambridgema.gov/-/media/Files/publicworksdepartment/combinedseweroverflows/Reports/cam_csoplanning_realtimecsopublicnotificationevaluationreport_final20250829.pdf Page 162. “The unit cost per acre has been updated using sewer separation construction costs provided by the Boston Water and Sewer Commission (BWSC) for recent construction contracts in South Boston and East Boston. Based on the average cost per acre from BWSC contracts, adding a 50% contingency given the significant uncertainty by which stormwater can be conveyed to the receiving waters, the average cost is estimated to be $510,000 per acre.” 
   ↩︎
5. MWRA Annual Report November 2024, Secured Bond Debt Service chart, page 2: https://emma.msrb.org/P11811316-P11388424-P11828155.pdf ↩︎ Note: MWRA has a budget for the debt service on expiring bonds. That debt service budget can be used to pay for funding of sewer separation and Green Infrastructure. ↩︎
6.  https://www.mwra.com/sites/default/files/2023-11/2006csoarpresentation.pdf Page 18. ↩︎

Sunday, January 11th, from 6 pm – 8 pm

Hybrid meeting via Zoom or in-person at:
Just A Start 430 Rindge Ave, Cambridge, MA 02140

Sewage elimination plans in Alewife Brook and in the Charles and Mystic rivers.
MassDEP sent MWRA back to the drawing board. But MWRA has not changed direction.

What do you want to see in the new plans?

Presentations and Q&A from your friends at:

YOU CAN HELP. GET INVOLVED.
BE HEARD. EAT FREE PIZZA.

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Free pizza when you join us in-person at:
Just A Start 430 Rindge Ave, Cambridge, MA 02140

Parking is available at the Alewife T parking garage or at Russell Field.

Thank you to Just A Start for sharing their Community Room.

Deer Island Wastewater Treatment Plant and digester domes peeking out from behind the clouds. Shot from a plane out of Logan, Thanksgiving 2025. Photo credit: Kristin Anderson

In the 1990s, households and businesses in Greater Boston paid for the Boston Harbor cleanup with sewer rate increases that enabled borrowing. Now those old long-term loans are finally being paid off, freeing up room in the MWRA’s budget so new projects can be financed without another shock to water and sewer rates.

Between 2024 and 2031, MWRA will finish paying off about $2.1 billion in long-term bonds.¹ Because this old debt is coming off the books, MWRA can issue around $2.1 billion in new bonds without raising water and sewer rates for households and businesses. This is happening just in time to fund sewage pollution elimination projects for Alewife Brook and the Charles and Mystic rivers.

While it may appear less expensive to dump untreated waste into our waters, this is only so if the analysis excludes health impacts,² damage to the environment, and the burden on the wider community. But MWRA is under regulatory and legal obligations. So financing the new sewage elimination plan, aka: the long term Combined Sewer Overflow control plan, is not optional. It is required. 

MWRA can clean up the sewage in the Alewife, Mystic, and Charles — and do it without raising rates.

Wondering why the question mark?
Read our recent letters to the MWRA Board of Directors to find out:

November 2025 Letter to MWRA Board regarding the updated sewage elimination plan.
December 2025 Letter to MWRA Board regarding financing of the sewage elimination plan.

Footnotes:

1. MWRA Annual Report November 2024, Secured Bond Debt Service chart, page 2: https://emma.msrb.org/P11811316-P11388424-P11828155.pdf ↩︎
2.  Association between Combined Sewer Overflow Events and Gastrointestinal Illness in Massachusetts Municipalities with and without River-Sourced Drinking Water, 2014–2019
   https://www.bu.edu/sph/news/articles/2024/sewage-overflows-linked-to-increase-in-gastrointestinal-illnesses/
   https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11110654/
   ↩︎

Amazing news. This week MassDEP told Massachusetts Water Resources Authority to halt its plans. Those plans would increase the amount of sewage at Alewife Brook, the Charles River, and the Mystic River. MassDEP said MWRA’s plans are not “consistent with the federal Clean Water Act or the Massachusetts Surface Water Quality Standards.” Thank you, MassDEP.  

MWRA Must Finish the Job

Projects from the first Alewife Brook Sewage Control Plan were finished in 2015.  The result was that 7 CSO outfalls were eliminated and Cambridge separated 283 acres of combined sewers. A beautiful 3.4-acre stormwater wetland was created to receive stormwater from separated sewer pipes.  Half the work is now done.

But there is more work to do. Sewage continues to flood into public parkland, bike paths, roads, yards, and homes. The second half of the work must be done.

MWRA must fund the completion of the work. It must require that Cambridge and Somerville work to end Alewife Brook sewage pollution. The good work of the first Long Term Sewage Control Plan must not be abandoned. The cities and MWRA must follow the goals and methods of that plan and finish the job! 

A Sensible Plan for “Virtual” Sewage Pollution Elimination

Here is Save the Alewife Brook’s sensible and affordable approach to the problem, achieving “Virtual” Sewage Pollution Elimination. Our plan follows the goals and methods of the first Long Term Sewage Control Plan. It ends sewage pollution in the brook, making it comparable to MWRA’s most expensive plan: a $1.25 billion 32-foot-wide tunnel, big enough to drive a truck through, meant to be constructed under Alewife Brook. Our plan is estimated to cost around $400 million. This includes dredging. It is a fraction of the cost of MWRA’s plan.

With a million households in the MWRA’s system, and 35% of the flows from non-residential customers, the estimated cost to fund this plan using MWRA bonds is $4.24 per quarterly household sewer bill.

$4.24 – that’s the cost of a cup of coffee and a donut.

This week, on 11/13/2025, the Somerville City Council voted unanimously to pass a CSO Funding Resolution. This decision sends a message to the State Delegation that MWRA must provide funding for the updated CSO Control Plan. The Resolution was sponsored by Councilor Ben Ewen-Campen and co-sponsored by Councilor-at-Large and Vice President Wilfred Mbah.

The message is clear. Massachusetts Water Resources Authority must provide financial support to Cambridge and Somerville. This funding is needed to finish the work started three decades ago in the first Long Term Sewage Control Plan, to end sewage pollution at Alewife Brook.

Councilor Ewen-Campen, Sponsor of the Resolution

Councilor Ewen-Campen stated, “We’re being asked to spend an impossible amount of money to burden rate payers, to do a project that is not good enough. So what is the solution? It is extremely straightforward: The MWRA needs to pay more. They need to get much more actively involved in funding this plan right now, the Alewife Brook plan.”

Councilor-at-Large and Vice President Mbah, Cosponsor of the Resolution

Councilor-at-Large and Vice President Mbah said, “MWRA has proposed a revision to the Water Quality Standard to avoid making required investments. A Water Quality Standard Downgrade would roll back decades of progress that has been made to clean up our rivers. It means more pollution and four times as much sewage by 2050 due to climate change. We cannot sit here and watch.”

Councilor Clingan

Councilor Clingan said, “People used to swim in the Mystic River over by the boathouse. I grew up in West Somerville. When I was a kid, it was cleaner. I used to fish at Alewife Brook… I’m happy to support this.”

Historical Precedent

The City Council’s request has historical precedent. Projects from the first Alewife Brook Long Term Sewage Control Plan were funded by MWRA through a Memorandum of Understanding and Financial Assistance Agreement. The costs that MWRA agreed to cover changed over time, going from $34.8 million in the year 2000,¹ to $60 million in 2008,² to $70.3 million in 2012,³ to $112 million in 2019.⁴ Significant sewer separation in Cambridge was completed because of MWRA’s funding. 7 CSO outfalls were closed and the Alewife Stormwater Wetlands was created in the first plan. That excellent work never would have happened without the MWRA agreeing to provide financial assistance. Now the MWRA needs to step up to help the cities finish the job to end sewage pollution at Alewife Brook.

Watch the video of the City Council discussion here: 

Download the resolution here:

____________________________

Footnotes:

1. https://archives.lib.state.ma.us/server/api/core/bitstreams/da137af0-1b2f-4a4b-9428-da60948f67c5/content ↩︎
2. https://www.mwra.com/media/file/sept2008pdf ↩︎
3. https://www.mwra.com/sites/default/files/2023-11/csoar2012.pdf ↩︎
4. https://www.mass.gov/doc/fact-sheet-for-the-final-determination-to-adopt-a-variance-for-cso-discharges-to-alewife/download ↩︎

On March 7, 2025, advocates from many watershed and community groups formed the Coalition to End Sewage Pollution. These organizations include the Mystic River Watershed Association, the Charles River Watershed Association, Alewife Study Group, Green Cambridge, Save the Alewife Brook, and others. 

The Coalition works together represent over 100,000 people. We feel our concerns have not been heard by staff at the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority, Cambridge, and Somerville. In particular, there is deep disappointment that sewage project planners have not been transparent about the process used to evaluate sewage elimination alternatives. The project planners have not evaluated the elimination of CSO regulators. In the Recommended Alternatives, project planners have not seriously evaluated meaningful sewer separation and associated green stormwater infrastructure. Project planners have not achieved levels of CSO control that satisfy public health criteria, despite a state-issued Water Quality Variance that requires them to do so.

The Governor’s Biodiversity Conservation Goals for the Commonwealth Report, published in August 2025, specifically calls on the state–including, presumably, the MWRA and the EEA Secretary–to “significantly reduce or eliminate combined-sewer overflows (CSOs).” The current proposal does not come close to eliminating remaining CSOs in Boston rivers. Instead, it proposes dumping considerably more sewage into our beloved water bodies on an annual basis.  

The Coalition to End Sewage Pollution has created the Shared Principles and Shared Goals document, available for download here. This community-based plan must guide the project planners in the selection of the Preferred Alternative CSO control plan that will be submitted at the end of this year.

Great news! At the urging of Chair Councillor Patty Nolan, the Health & Environment Committee of the Cambridge City Council voted unanimously to push forward Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) legislation. The new legislation will soon go to City Council for a final vote!

Thank you to the Health & Environment Committee’s Chair Patty Nolan, Councillors Wilson, Siddiqui, Azeem, and Sobrinho-Wheeler for pushing forward legislation to end sewage pollution. Thank you also to Vice Mayor McGovern and Councillor Zuzy for their participation and support.  

Thank you to Emily Norton and Julie Wood from Charles River Watershed Association. Thank you to Patrick Herron from Mystic River Watershed Association.

Thank you especially to Cambridge’s excellent City Engineer Jim Wilcox, who shares his 15 years of deep knowledge of combined sewer projects in the city.

Here’s what the legislation will do, if passed by the City Council:

It asks the City Manager to…

• Work with the newly formed Coalition to End Sewage Pollution.
• Create a Combined Sewer Overflow Commission.
• Provide a cost-benefit analysis of a 25-year level of CSO control.
• Improve stormwater regulations.
• Include green stormwater infrastructure.
• Improve public outreach regarding sewer infrastructure planning.

Why is this important?

The Massachusetts Water Resources Authority has not taken seriously feedback from watershed advocates. Despite enormous public outcry, the MWRA refuses to include feedback from the public in their sewage pollution plans. The amount of sewage that is dumped into Alewife Brook is illegal and MWRA knows it. But MWRA wants to continue using Alewife Brook as an open sewer, despite having the financial ability to fix the problem. 

The collaborative planning process between Cambridge, Somerville, and MWRA is ongoing. This local legislation is separate from that effort. It creates another avenue for Cambridge to create it’s own a path towards community health by ending sewage pollution.

What’s next?

1. MWRA, Cambridge, & Somerville will host their big public Sewage Pollution Planning Meeting on 9/25. This is the last public meeting that they will hold before submitting their sewage pollution plans to EPA and MassDEP.

Please register for the big public Sewage Pollution Meeting now.
September 25, 2025 | 6 pm | on Zoom: Register here

2. We expect Cambridge City Council to deliberate on the newly proposed legislation. The vote from the Health & Environment Committee will happen as early as September 29th.

The Presentations.

You can watch the video of the Committee’s hearing here on Combined Sewer Overflows from September 9th, 2025. 

The Committee listened to a presentation from City Engineer Jim Wilcox. Emily Norton and Julie Wood from the Charles River Watershed Association had an awesome presentation. Patrick Herron from Mystic River Watershed Association was amazing! Lastly, Kristin Anderson & Eppa Rixey from Save the Alewife Brook presented.

City Engineer Jim Wilcox said, “The crown jewel of the CAM 004 [CSO sewer separation project from twenty years ago]  was the construction of the Alewife Wetland. This wetland was constructed in the Alewife Reservation as part of sewer separation work. We need to demonstrate that we’re not increasing flooding… the Alewife Wetland serves two purposes. One is it provides what’s called stormwater detention, which is control of flows [meaning reduction of flooding]… It also provides treatment of stormwater through the plants and soils. This is a four acre installation,… a $12 million component of the CAM 004 [Huron and Concord Ave area ] sewer separation project.”

The 3.4 acre Alewife Stormwater Wetland reduces flooding and improves storm water quality. Note: there are many more acres of state land available near Alewife Brook for more constructed Stormwater Wetlands. Photo credit: MWRA

Emily Norton, Executive Director of Charles River Watershed Association stated, “It is not legal to dump sewage in our rivers.”

Patrick Herron, Executive Director of the Mystic River Watershed Association said, “Imagine if you have just used the toilet and you live in a combined sewer area in Cambridge, you flush the toilet and whatever happened in that toilet arrives at Alewife Brook in the condition that it left. It’s not treated…. There are real consequences to this… We would support one of two outcomes: complete sewer separation OR a 25-year level of control.”

Eppa Rixey, Steering Committee Member from Save the Alewife Brook said, “We don’t see Cambridge committing to sewer separation in the Long Term Sewage Control Planning process.” Cambridge needs to include sewer separation in the Long Term Sewage Control Plan.

The Roundtable Discussion

Chair of Health & Environment Committee Councillor Patty Nolan said,
“It’s a public health threat, in addition to a calamity and an economic disaster when that flooding occurs… It’s an existential threat that affects our lives across so many different domains. We need to keep that in mind as we think about ways to do this… How can we not address this when this is something critical to our future and livability as a city? We’re Cambridge. We can solve this. And if we can’t, then who can? We look forward to hopefully having the Coalition work together with both the Council and the City Staff as we move forward, understanding this will supplement the work that’s being done.”

Slowness of the Project Progress

With the Long Term Sewage Planning process now in its fourth year, Councillors at the meeting expressed concerns. They believe the City needs to move faster to end sewage pollution.

Cost Concerns were raised

Vice Mayor McGovern said, “What are we doing at the State level to push our State Representatives and State Senators to figure out what they can do, to figure out how to get more money?”

Councillor Cathie Zusy asked, “Will we [Cambridge] be paying the $30 million [for the CSO tank at Bellis Circle / Sherman Street] or will MWRA be paying for it?”

Cambridge’s City Engineer Jim Wilcox replied, “that is part of the cost-sharing discussion with MWRA.”

Charles River Watershed Association’s Executive Director Emily Norton said, “I respect that MWRA tries to keep rates low. But how much do we value clean water? How much do we value not having toilet paper and tampon applicators going into our basements? How much do we value being able to swim in the Charles River? Our Cut the Crap campaign is also directed at MWRA. People want to see this. Let’s have a conversation about how we pay for it. There are creative ways to raise funds.”

Councillor Patty Nolan said, “Cambridge has been spending $30 to $50 million each year on sewer infrastructure and stormwater control.”

Neighborhood construction concerns came up.

Councillor Azeem said, “The neighbors feel that [sewage pollution] is a negative impact already. So maybe the neighborhood would be willing to put up with disruption in the short run, if it meant that [sewage pollution] would become less of a problem in the future.”

Cambridge City Engineer Jim Wilcox said, “When we do these sewer separation projects, it’s not just doing the sewer separation work. We also have to look at the condition of the other utilities that are in the street, particularly water utilities, gas utilities. So it’s not just sewer separation work, it’s also other work that needs to be done at the same time.”

Councillor Wilson said, “That health conditions have developed from not handling this sooner is a concern to me… In terms of timeline, where is the level of urgency when working with our capital partners [MWRA & Somerville]?”

Vice Mayor McGovern said, “I know the concerns around doing too much construction and too much upheaval in neighborhoods. And I know construction is never a pleasant thing. But it’s necessary. And I’m glad that we’re a city that is continuing to invest in infrastructure improvements. I, too, want to be on record saying, how can we move more quickly?”

Thank you to all of the members of Save the Alewife Brook who participated by providing written and spoken comments for the Health & Environment Committee meeting:

Suzanne Egean Beverly, Ann Stewart, Gwen Speeth, Heather Hoffman, John Tortelli, Ann McDonald, Rob Moir from The Ocean River Institute, Susan Callanan, Christopher Logan, Eric Grunebaum, Marina Goreau Atlas, Lois Josimovich, Lori Stokes, Melanie Abrams, Reva Stein, katherine dander, MARCIA CIRO, Peggy Lynch, Meredith Olsen, Elizabeth Thomason, Silvia Dominguez, Martha cleveland, Carlee Blamphin, Amy Cohen, Patty Hnatiuk, Naomi Dworkin, Mark Paglierani, SUSAN GOULD, Janine Hart-Hueber, Alida Castillo, Darci Hanna, John Tortelli, Rob Vandenabeele, Trudi Goodman, Carolyn A White, Kathryn Goldenoak, Richard Rabin, Elaine Lyte, Elizabeth Jochnick, Anna Cavallo, Holly Pearson, Ilana Blatt-Eisengart, Sue Gill, Liana Laughlin, Resa Blatman, McNamara Buck, Andrea Landman, Lois Grossman, Marcia Ciro, Ellen Mass, Nate Mendes, Joy Hackel, Eric Mooney, Candace Esslinger, Sahba Salarian, Michelle Gulen, Elizabeth Merrick, Jordan Weinstein, Elaine Campbell, Kristin Anderson, Michael Behizadeh, Meryl Becker

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:

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Please ask the Councilors for Sewer Separation, Green Stormwater Infrastructure, Underground Storage Tanks, and a 25-year level of control.

Send an Email

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).

A new report was published by the Commonwealth last week, on 08/21/2025. It calls for an End to Sewage Pollution, through elimination of combined sewer overflows (CSOs) and sanitary sewer overflows (SSOs). The new report calls for sewer separation, treatment plant upgrades, and green stormwater infrastructure.

Governor Healey signed Executive Order No. 618, which called for nation-leading biodiversity goals. To meet this charge, the Commonwealth published a 25-year plan this week. The report calls for elimination of Combined Sewer Overflows (CSOs).

Goal #1: Protect

Protect people and wildlife from pollution. Eliminate CSOs, SSOs, and stormwater runoff to protect public health through:

* sewer separation
* treatment plant upgrades
* sewer expansion
* green infrastructure

Increase investment.
Ensure waters are swimmable and fishable.
Ensure adequate streamflow for fish and wildlife.
Encourage greywater recycling in new construction.

Goal #2: Restore

Restore fish passage habitats to good health by 2050. Nature-based solutions including Green Stormwater Infrastructure have immediate benefits to climate resilience. Reestablish river herring (Alewives) and other migratory fish to their historic ranges. Environmental health is community health. 

Goal #3: Sustain

Restore habitats and water quality through innovative and dedicated funding mechanisms. Increase access to nature on public land with a focus on Environmental Justice communities.

Goal #4: Connect

Nature in the Neighborhoods: support community-led efforts and ensure that all people have a connection to nature. Ensure equitable access to nature.

Governor Healey is calling on Massachusetts Water Resources Authority, Cambridge and Somerville to end Combined Sewer Overflows.

Graphic from the State’s Biodiversity Report, page 20.

Six untreated CSO outfalls are at Alewife Brook, in the Commonwealth’s most densely populated urban area with persistent sewage flooding. The sewage flooding causes severe digestive illness in Environmental Justice communities.

August 8th, 2023: Area residents jogged and pushed baby strollers through sewage floodwater on the Alewife Greenway. Photo by David Stoff.

Herring photo from the State’s Biodiversity Report, page 20

The report calls for commitment to investments over the next five years, and with achievable goals by 2050. 

Thank you to Governor Maura Healey
& Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll

Please send an email to the State House to End Sewage Pollution.

Do you live near Alewife Brook? Do you use the Alewife Greenway Path or the Alewife Brook Reservation state park? Do you live, work, commute, or play near any of the other 35 Combined Sewer Outfalls in the MWRA’s system that discharge untreated sewage into the environment? 

Please ask legislators to report favorably on House Bill 1031 and Senate Bill 608. Your personal stories are the best testimony. You can add your local legislators at the State House to the email. The deadline for comments is July 1st, 2025. So please do this today.

House Bill 1031 and Senate Bill 608 are identical. This law would require all CSOs in the MWRA’s sewer service area to end the dumping of untreated sewage during storms as large as a 25-year event, by 2035 at the latest. That is the effective elimination of CSOs, also referred to as “virtual CSO elimination.” 

Save the Alewife Brook Goes to the State House!

David Stoff and Gene Benson are all smiles at the State House. Stoff’s Poop Emoji costume was on loan from the Charles River Watershed Association.

Testimony at the State House hearing on 06/17/2025.

Save the Alewife Brook’s Eugene Benson, Kristin Anderson, and Paige Gromfin provide testimony at the State House hearing.

Somerville’s Michael Lonetto provides testimony at the State House hearing.

Save the Alewife Brook’s David Stoff provides testimony at the State House hearing.

Mashpee Wampanoag Hartman Deetz testifies at the State House hearing.

Mystic River Watershed Association’s Patrick Herron and Charles River Watershed Association’s Emily Norton provide testimony at the State House hearing.

Why is this legislation necessary?

Improvements as a result of the Boston Harbor Cleanup have stalled. Climate change threatens to make sewage pollution four times worse by 2050. We have seen that the sewage polluters are planning to do the bare minimum. The bare minimum would allow untreated sewage to continue to be dumped into Alewife Brook in rainstorms. The state must step in to require ending sewage pollution in the Greater Boston area.

What does this legislation do?

House Bill H.1031 and the identical Senate Bill S.608 address the sewage pollution crisis in the Greater Boston area. It gives the MWRA and the cities of Cambridge, Somerville, Boston, and Chelsea 10 years to end untreated sewage pollution. The polluters can either install CSO treatment facilities or engineer solutions to eliminate sewage dumping in up to a 25-year storm. This is what MWRA calls a “25-year level of control.” The MWRA has done it before, in South Boston, so it is doable.

What is a “25-year storm?”

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 NOAA Atlas 14 data. 

For context: the last big storm was the May 22, 2025 nor’easter. In the Alewife area, it was not as big as a 10-year storm event. That storm produced 3.14 inches of rainfall in Cambridge. As a result of that rain, Cambridge’s Alewife MBTA CSO dumped 1.35 million gallons of raw sewage pollution into Alewife brook. 

This legislation would require a solution where there is no sewage pollution in up to a storm that is twice as big at the 05/22/2025 nor’easter, OR construction of a CSO treatment facility to treat the sewage.

What is a CSO treatment facility?

A CSO treatment facility treats combined sewer overflows during storm events. It reduces pathogens with partial treatment (chlorination and then dechlorination), removes some solids, and somewhat improves water quality. It is not nearly as comprehensive as the treatment at the Deer Island treatment plant. But it is better than no treatment.

There are currently four CSO treatment facilities in the MWRA’s sewer system. Cambridge has a CSO treatment facility near Magazine Beach. The newest is MWRA’s Union Park CSO treatment facility, constructed in 2007 at a cost of $55 million. Union Park includes a 2.2 MG underground detention tank, with a public park above the tank.

Click here to see map of all CSOs in the MWRA’s system.

Great news! On 06/16/2025, the Cambridge City Council advanced a vision of the Alewife MBTA Station redevelopment. That vision includes as much Green Stormwater Infrastructure as possible and underground sewage pollution storage. The goal is to ensure the redevelopment plays a central role in significantly decreasing raw sewage discharges into Alewife Brook. The Policy Order and its message to the Governor, the MBTA, and other state agencies and authorities is supported by key local and regional groups: Mystic River Watershed Association, Green Cambridge, Alewife Study Group, Cambridge Sewage Overflow Working Group, and Save the Alewife Brook.

What does it mean?

Cambridge urges Governor Maura Healey and the MBTA to immediately amend the Request for Proposals (RFP) for the redevelopment of the Alewife T Complex. The Council calls for collaboration between the Commonwealth, the city, MWRA, MBTA, DCR, DPH, and the developer.  

The City Manager is asked to work to ensure that any future zoning relief for the development aligns with city and council goals. Those goals include addressing CSOs, providing housing, and prioritizing a commuter rail stop.

What happens next?

The Cambridge City Clerk will write to the Governor, MBTA, MWRA, DCR, DPH, and Cambridge’s State House delegation, to recommend that the redevelopment includes as much green stormwater infrastructure as possible and a major underground storage tank to eliminate sewage pollution.

Cambridge students at the Fayerweather Street School and at the Rindge Avenue Upper Campus School have been studying Combined Sewer Overflows. Thanks to the kids for doing their homework and speaking up for the environment and public health.

Cambridge students Sean Mullan, Dylan Fox, and Julian Shabry-Lichter
urge a doubling of the size of the Alewife Stormwater Wetlands.

Will Hausman of Belmont speaks out against sewage on the Alewife Path.

Arlington’s Saylor family speaks out about the cancer cluster near Alewife Brook.

Thanks to the Cambridge Sewer Overflow Working Group for their amazing vision and for working tirelessly on this policy order.

Eric Grunebaum, Cambridge Sewer Overflow Working Group, urges Green Stormwater Infrastructure to connect remaining green and blue spaces of the Great Swamp.

Ann McDonald of Save the Alewife Brook & Cambridge Sewer Overflow Working Group
lives next to Alewife Brook near two CSOs.

Gwen Speeth of North Cambridge explains explains why including sewage mitigation at Alewife T rebuild is a WIN-WIN-WIN-WIN!

Thank you to over 40 Cambridge, Arlington, Somerville, and Belmont residents who spoke out in unanimous support:

Eppa Rixey, Michael Lonetto, Gwen Speeth, Niels Seidler Kahn, Ella Hausman, Will Hausman, Julia Shabry-Lichter, Mackey Buck, Michael Rome, Ann McDonald, Ann Tennis, Dylan Fox, Kristin Anderson, Michael Behizadeh, David White, Russell Bartash, Nonnie Valentine, Eric Grunebaum, Laura Saylor, Isaac Saylor, Ellie Saylor, Lewis Weitzman, Beth Melofchik, Cynthia Hibbard, Suzanna Schell, Marina Atlas, Rebecca Gatti, Heather Hoffman, Jessica Kinner, Eppa Rixey, Daniel Heller, Kari Sizemore, Lisa Birk, Lucy W, Melanie Abrams, Peter Kroon, Ruth Ryals, James Cornie, Sarah Block, Suzanna Schell, Linda Moussouris, Alida Castillo

Thank you to the Mystic River Watershed Association, Green Cambridge, Alewife Study Group, Councilor Patty Nolan, and Cambridge DPW for meeting to discuss the Policy Order.

Join Save the Alewife Brook in person or remotely via Zoom

Tuesday, June 17th
1 pm – 5 pm

Joint Committee on Environment and Natural Resources Hearing
at the State House in Boston, Room 215

Support a sensible, achievable, and necessary response to raw sewage being dumped into our rivers through Combined Sewer Outfalls!

Register now to speak about CSOs at the Joint Committee on Environment and Natural Resources.

The deadline to register is Monday, June 16 at 10:00 am. So please register now!
Sign up as a member of Save the Alewife Brook.

Please sign up in support of the following legislation:

House Bill 1031 ~ An Act Relative to Combined Sewer Overflows
Senate Bill 608 ~ An Act Relative to Combined Sewer Overflows

House Bill 1046 ~ An Act to Eliminate Combined Sewer Overflows in Massachusetts Waterways 

Sponsors of An Act Relative to Combined Sewer Overflows

Come to the hearing, either in person or online. When it’s your turn to speak, please ask the committee to issue a favorable report on H.1031.

You will have three minutes to speak. If you have a personal story, those are most compelling. Let the committee know that you support House Bill 1031, as well as Senate Bill 608 and House Bill 1046.

Tell the Committee we need the state to end the dumping of sewage pollution.

House Bill H.1031 and the identical Senate Bill S.608 are realistic, outcome-oriented, and consistent with current technologies and procedures.

The key language is: “Beginning on January 1, 2035 in MWRA service areas there shall be no untreated Combined Sewer Overflow in any 25-year 24-hour storm event or a smaller storm event.”

The 25-year standard has already been achieved at outfalls on the Boston Harbor such as Fort Point Channel. Only a few outfalls violate this standard on the Charles and Mystic Rivers and the Alewife Brook. 

Recognizing that some CSOs may need to discharge in large storms to prevent sewer backups for some time, this legislation requires that, in 10 years (2035), all CSOs in the MWRA sewer service area either:

1. Have the treatment across the system now provided at only five CSOs; 

or

2. CSOs only activate during 25+year storms, and not during smaller storms (five CSOs along the beaches in Dorchester Bay already have 25-year level of control)

Sponsors of An Act to Eliminate Combined Sewer Overflows in Massachusetts Waterways

House Bill H.1046 is a little different. It calls for all CSO discharges in a Massachusetts waterway to be eliminated by December 31, 2050.

Please attend tonight’s Cambridge City Council meeting in person or via Zoom.

5:30 pm Monday, June 9
at City Hall in Central Square and via Zoom

Cambridge supporters, please be there. Please stand up and speak out.

If you live outside of Cambridge, but have experience with raw sewage flooding, the stench in the park, or boating downstream in Mystic River, please let the good folks on Cambridge City Council know what it’s like.

You will only get 1 or 2 minutes to comment during Public Comment Period. Please prepare your statement in advance.

This Policy Order is a request to the Governor and MBTA. Please be kind when you ask the Councilors to vote in support.

If you’d like to watch but not participate, here’s the live stream link for the meeting.

What is the “Ending Alewife Sewage” Policy Order #3 about?

The Policy Order is about the redevelopment of the Alewife MBTA Station parking garage. The Alewife MBTA station demolition and reconstruction is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to address problems with transit, regional sewer infrastructure, and affordable housing.

The Ending Alewife Sewage Policy Order asks that the MBTA’s Request for Proposals from developers (RFP) be rewritten to ensure that it includes planning and space for major upgrades to the existing sewer infrastructure. 

The RFP must include space for Cambridge and Massachusetts Water Resources Authority to upgrade existing gray sewer infrastructure, including an underground sewage storage tank with the goal of eliminating sewage pollution in our brook. And there must be space for Green Stormwater Infrastructure, including at least 3 acres for a stormwater wetlands. 

The Policy Order asks for collaboration between the MBTA, MWRA, DCR, DPH, the City of Cambridge, Green Cambridge (an abutting landowner), and local residents and other stakeholders.

Note: The Policy Order does not ask for money for this work from the MBTA or from the private developer – it asks for needed space and collaboration of the state authorities and cities to End Alewife Sewage Pollution.

Why do we need space for Gray Infrastructure?

Significant gray sewer infrastructure already exists at the MBTA Alewife site. Principally that’s “CAM401A”, the huge pipe next to the garage carrying 2/3rds of the sewage pollution that is dumped into the brook. There is also an ancient pipe under the garage. The infrastructure desperately needs to be upgraded by the city and by MWRA. 

The Alewife Brook Branch Sewer, built in 1896 (not a typo!), runs under the MBTA parking garage. Cambridge’s Alewife MBTA combined sewer outfall, aka CAM401A, is not in compliance with the Boston Harbor Court Case. 

A new underground sewage tank at Alewife could collect untreated sewage during rain storms and detain it until after the storm has passed. Then the sewage could be pumped to Deer Island for treatment.

Underground Tank in Central Square

Why do we need space for Green Stormwater Infrastructure (GSI)?

Cambridge has a lot of sewer separation work to do that is tributary to Alewife Brook. Sewer separation removes stormwater from the sewer pipes. After the stormwater is removed from the pipes, it has to go somewhere. That somewhere is a Stormwater Wetland, for cleaning and attenuation. Without a new Stormwater Wetland here, there’s no place to send the separated water. 

GSI here would reconnect the separated areas of wetland and green spaces: the Alewife stormwater wetland, Yates Pond, and Jerry’s Pond.

Meeting Talking Points

Space and Collaboration.
The Policy Order asks for space and collaboration, for the city to work with MWRA and other agencies and groups, so they are able to do the work needed there to End Alewife Sewage Pollution. It does NOT ask for money from the MBTA or from their private developer but it requires that this collaboration be integrated into the project before this precious and perfectly located public land is handed to a private developer.

Cambridge’s Alewife MBTA Sewage Outfall is not in compliance.
In 2023, Cambridge’s Alewife MBTA combined sewage outfall (CAM401A) was responsible for 70% of the sewage pollution in Alewife Brook. It is not in compliance with the Boston Harbor Court Case. 

Sewage Flooding.
The area is historically called, “The Great Swamp.” It floods regularly, sending untreated sewage flood water into the parks, yards, and homes of area residents. 

Community Health. 
100% of the Alewife sewage pollution is untreated. Exposure to untreated sewage results in sickness.

The area is densely populated. 
5000 people currently live in the Alewife’s 100-year floodplain. 

Environmental Justice.
Unhoused people have built multiple encampments in the Alewife Reservation. Camps get flooded out with sewage. Additionally, the state designates neighborhoods along the Alewife Brook as Environmental Justice blocks. 

An incredible opportunity!
Imagine the Alewife Stormwater Wetlands almost doubling in size, surrounded by beautiful new affordable housing where that horrible parking garage sits now. With connecting paths and trees. Swoon!

Please attend the Cambridge City Council meeting in person or via Zoom at 5:30 pm on Monday, June 9, at City Hall in Central Square. Speak up for Alewife Brook! Since the sewage that flows into Alewife Brook mostly comes from Cambridge toilets, feel free to speak-up, regardless of which town you live in!

Please sign up now for the meeting as a member of Save the Alewife Brook.

The policy order is here. It asks the MBTA to immediately amend its Alewife garage redevelopment RFP to include ending sewage releases into Alewife Brook as a priority, not as an afterthought.

Ending sewage pollution requires land and the 10-13 acres of the Alewife garage – state-owned land – are perfectly situated for green and gray infrastructure. The Policy Order asks for 3-acres of wetlands (green infrastructure) to hold and clean stormwater, as well as concrete tanks (gray infrastructure) to hold sewage that will later be released when there is sewer capacity to send it to Deer Island for treatment. 

3-acres could be another stormwater wetland almost the size of the existing Alewife Wetland which was built to clean stormwater from the Huron/Concord neighborhood while also providing relief from heat, improved air quality, more habitat and better health and well-being.

This pivotal policy order would help shape the future of Alewife Brook and the health of our neighborhoods. Sponsored by Councillors Zusy, Siddiqui, Vice Mayor McGovern, and Councillor Wilson, this order urges Governor Maura Healey, the MBTA Board of Directors, and MBTA General Manager Philip Eng to take decisive action as the huge Alewife Garage site undergoes demolition and redevelopment.

Each year, tens of millions of gallons of untreated raw sewage is dumped into Alewife Brook and about 2/3rds of it flows right through MBTA land next to the garage. In 2023, 26 million gallons of raw sewage discharged into the brook — the highest volume in the entire Greater Boston area. The Alewife Greenway Path, a vital corridor for residents, is directly impacted, with raw sewage sometimes flooding into yards, homes, parks, and onto public walkways used by children, runners, and families.

The Policy Order recognizes the rare opportunity presented by the planned demolition and redevelopment of the MBTA Alewife Garage. This 10-13-acre site includes the two outfall pipes responsible for most of the area’s sewage discharges, making it the ideal location for green stormwater infrastructure and a major underground storage tank. These improvements would reduce sewage overflows, expand open space, improve air quality, and protect public health as a major new housing development is also anticipated at the garage site.

You can sign up ahead of time to comment via this form. The Agenda Item is “Ending Alewife Sewage, Policy Order #3.”

If you can’t make it to the meeting or by Zoom, it’s still worth dashing off a note to the Council before 5:30 at council@cambridgema.gov and CC the clerk at cityclerk@cambridgema.gov

Over 60 volunteers from Somerville, Cambridge, Arlington, and Boston showed up in the pouring rain on Earth Day 2025 for Save the Alewife Brook’s DCR Path Earth Day cleanup & Alewife MBTA Sewage Outfall tour. Then another dozen volunteers arrived to help after the rain stopped. It’s unbelievable how many people care so deeply about this Brook!

Using mad muscle and a hook on a rope, we pulled a shopping cart, bike, and bike trailer from the Minuteman bike path bridge.

Photo by Ann McDonald.

Amazingly, we also found a large fresh water mussel shell near the Brook.

Beth Melofchik & David Stoff discuss the find of a mussel shell. Photo by Charles Teague.

The reason that it is so amazing that we found a mussel shell is explained by Greg Harris in his wonderful Cambridge Day article, titled “Alewife Floaters, and what you can do about them”.

“Alewife Floaters are a species of freshwater mussel that as adults live embedded in the sand and mud, but as larvae have evolved an ingenious way to reach new areas of a river system: They hitch a ride in the gills of the Alewife herring (as well as related fish, such as the blue-back herring and the American shad). When its host fish were so abundant that they were a pillar of Massachusetts tribal sustenance, and fertilized soil for the early European colonists, the mussel must have been abundant, too. What does it do for a body of water to have such a species in it? Consider this: A single mussel can filter 15 to 20 gallons of water a day, capturing and cycling nutrients, structuring the stream bed as a habitat and forming the basis of a food web for other species. Mussel beds can revitalize an urban river.

Even now, when Alewife Brook is mostly bereft of its fish because of its quality, sometimes you see a Floater shell or two. Maybe you, like me for the longest time, assumed they were archaeological, or someone’s lunch dumped in the river. But no: They are evidence that despite the pollution, the shallowness, the channelization, the gunk that’s accumulated – some fish do make it through. And some Alewife Floaters hitch a ride. Nature is that powerfully resilient, that ready to come back. To provide ecosystem services, once we know to value them.”

Big thanks to the volunteers who came out in the rain for our DCR Park Serve Alewife Earth Day Cleanup:

Thank you, Arlington Select Board Member Diane Mahon!

Thanks also to: John Anderson, Renee Kelley, George Laite, Logan B, Melissa Mahoney, Jean Baptiste Brun, Paul Lipsky, Ben Flaumenhaft, Caroline Sherrard, Charles Teague, Anna Currin, Jennifer Ingram, Ulli and Steve Rapp, Alex Simmons, Michael Everman, David Mussina, Yawen Timurdogan, Maureen Urban, Daniel Place, Phillip Veatch, Han Chen, Shuo Cheng, Jean-Marc Guettier, Nathaly Herrel, Diandra Chamberlain, Andy Forbes, Rachel Zoll, Sunyoung Park, John Williams, Ken Domino, Jess Strzempko, Lindsey Leigh, Marian Miller, Amro Elbakri, Henry Kilgore, Eric Grunebaum, Alexa Wadsworth, Jimmy Johnson, John Tortelli, Suzanne Chiarito, Angelique Bradford, Tom Galow, Nancy Frost, Joel Snider, Sam Murphy, Maureen & Bazil Jackson, Bob Tosi Jr, Jennifer O’Brien Chang, Olivia O’Donnell, Michael Lonetto, Justin Kunimune, Gwen Speeth, Chris Logan, Sabrina Morais, Colleen Fitzgerald, David Bel, Dakota Tyson, Reva Stein, Cody Canning, Jen Thompson, Erica Tangney, Joann Keesey, Eleanor Wolf, Sparsh Chaudhri, Susan and Jeff Denham, Sam Pierce, Pauline Tran, Thais Pinheiro, Phil McHenry, Laurianne McHenry, Ivy Xu, Sonya Green, Bivianne Velásquez, Melissa McWhinney, Adam Lanman, Lauren Coffin, Susann Wilkinson, Gerri Strickler, Sydney Ross, Robin Shaw, Danny Balel, Elaine Campbell, Angela Poiré, Ann McDonald, Kristin Anderson, Eppa Rixey, David Stoff, Linea Rowe, John Green, Phil Mahoney, Mark Foster, Christine Metzler, Beth Melofchik, Gilbert Martin, Janine Hart-Hueber

Volunteers gather in the rain at Bicentennial Park. Photo by Jimmy Johnson.

Join us on Saturday morning, April 26^th, for an Earth Day Alewife Greenway Path Clean-Up and CSO Tour. We will gather trash along the path next to the brook. While we’re there, we’ll provide a tour of the Combined Sewer Outfalls and the Concrete Sewage Death Channel.

We’ll discuss what we’re doing together, to make Alewife Brook fishable, boatable, and safe, for the enjoyment of all.

• Bring gloves, water, & garbage picker, if you have one. We’ll provide bags.
• Meet at Bicentennial Park at Mass Ave and Boulevard Road at 10:00 am on Saturday, April 26^th
• Free T-shirts & boat bags for volunteers to help spread the word!

Participants take individual responsibility for their own safety, avoiding touching any suspect items.

Sign up for this event here:

A Step Towards a Clean Brook

In a significant step towards addressing Somerville’s untreated sewage pollution, the Somerville City Council hosted Save the Alewife Brook to learn about long-time neglect at Somerville’s Tannery Brook CSO and the serious community health impacts of untreated sewage and flooding.

Council President Neufeld Introduces Tannery Brook CSO Order

On 3/13/2025, Council President Neufeld & Councilor Ewen-Campen sponsored an order for the Tannery Brook CSO outfall and invited us to present.

Councilor Ewen-Campen Calls for a Deeper Understanding

Councilor Ewen-Campen stated, “When there’s a big storm, sewage goes into the rivers, the Mystic, the Charles, the Alewife Brook. I hope that what everyone is able to do tonight, when we hear from this wonderful community group, is to get a deeper understanding of what that means. A lot of attention in our infrastructure work has gone into the Charles and the Mystic and the Alewife has been overlooked.“

A Unanimous Vote

The Council members voted unanimously in support of an order to have the Director of Infrastructure and Asset Management discuss the Tannery Brook CSO outfall with Somerville’s Finance Committee.

We look forward to engaging at the Finance Committee meeting with the Director of Infrastructure and Asset Management. And we hope to meet with the Mayor.

We thank Alewife supporter and Somerville resident Andy Visser for introducing us to the Council. And we thank the City Council for their time, compassion, and affirmative votes.

Thank you Madam President Neufeld, Councilor Ewen-Campen, Councilor Burnley Jr., Councilor Clingan, Councilor Davis, Councilor Mbah, Councilor McLaughlin, Councilor Sait, Councilor Scott, Councilor Strezo, and Councilor Wilson.

Click below to watch the Presentation:

Eugene Benson, Kristin Anderson, David Stoff Present to City Council

Over 300 Alewife Brook supporters attended the public Alewife CSO Sewage Pollution meeting on January 22nd. Another 100-200 people registered.

Thank you for your support. The State and Federal regulators were there. They work for all of us and they took note of your concern.

MWRA tried to silence us.
So we fought back and won a seat at the table.

Massachusetts Water Resources Authority did not want the Watershed Associations to make 2-3 minute statements at this important meeting. We fought back with our “FRED: Let us speak!” campaign, which yielded 189 emails to MWRA’s Executive Director, Fred Laskey.

In response to those emails, MWRA’s contractor CBI suggested the creation of a new CSO Control Plan Advisory Board. We want an Advisory Board that allows the Watershed advocates a seat at the planning table.

Your Comments in the Poll and in the Chat Were Awesome.

Attendees were asked in a poll: What hopes and/or concerns do you have?
Here are screenshots of poll comments:

A common theme in the chat was how long the process is taking.

The Proposals.

“If you can’t bedazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with BS!”

Above: A Proposed Minimum Plan, aka: 2050 Typical Year of Sewage Pollution Control. Sewer separation in Somerville is great! However, this plan fails because it was engineered to result in 26% more sewage pollution than what we have now. That is in average years and much would be worse during rainy years.

Above: Somerville’s proposal includes two stormwater wetlands in Davis Square. One wetlands is sited in a parking lot and the other on private property.

Replacing parking lots with Green Stormwater Infrastructure will get support from environmentalists and will make Davis Square incredibly beautiful. But taking private homes by eminent domain is not a serious proposal.

We need workable solutions.

Above: Somerville’s Mystic River Alternative where 100% of the CSOs are already treated.

Somerville’s Alewife Brook CSO outfall at Tannery Brook discharges untreated sewage pollution into parks, yards, and homes. The Tannery Brook CSO outfall is a serious health hazard.

We recommend that Somerville focuses resources on Alewife Brook.

Above: MWRA’s Storage Tunnel along Alewife Brook would have to be 32 feet in diameter to achieve “virtual CSO elimination.”

What was missing from the proposals:

• A solution at the Alewife MBTA station for the Alewife’s worst CSO outfall.
• Sewer Separation and Green Stormwater Infrastructure in Cambridge.
• Upgrades to MWRA’s regional sewer system, which is often overwhelmed during storm events. For instance, on Sunday, 2/16/2025, Deer Island Wastewater Treatment Plant was overwhelmed and discharged “blended” untreated sewage.
• A CSO treatment facility, which would not only treat sewage but also improve stormwater quality.
• Alewife Brook Dredging Project, to improve water quality, reduce flooding, and make the brook boatable.

Football Fields vs. Swimming Pools of Sewage.

Cambridge and Somerville dueled over sewage volume metaphors to describe the size of CSO detention tanks. Cambridge’s metaphor made more sense and is easier to understand. It stated that a football field is 360 ft x 160 ft. At one foot deep, it can hold 431,000 gallons of sewage pollution.

It is easy to imagine a 23-foot deep tank under the Dilboy Park football field. That would hold almost 10 million gallons of untreated sewage pollution from Davis Square. This may be the size tank needed to achieve “virtual CSO elimination” for the Tannery Brook CSO outfall.

This seems like a large tank, but other cities are creating larger storage solutions. And Sewer Separation and Green Storm Water Infrastructure can reduce the size of a CSO detention tank at Dilboy Park.  

Note: this idea has *not* been floated publicly by MWRA, Cambridge, or Somerville.

What we learned.

If no work is done, we expect to see upwards of 20.9 million gallons of untreated sewage discharged into the Brook annually on average by the year 2050. But weather will be more erratic in 2050, so there will be much more sewage pollution during rainy years.

The new plan must include either “virtual elimination” or a treatment facility for all Alewife CSOs. 

Backsliding: Making a Bad Situation Worse.

The polluters – MWRA, Cambridge, & Somerville – presented their modeling numbers for sewage pollution control. They altered the “Typical Year” volume of sewage pollution that they agreed to in Federal Court*.

The result is a 26% increase of sewage pollution.

In the slide above, the “Prior Typical Year” for Alewife Brook shows the CSO discharge volume of 9.9 million gallons.  The Typical Year CSO volume of 7.29 million gallons is the court mandated annual permitted volume. 

The purpose of the Updated Long Term Control Plan is to improve conditions, not worsen them. Note that many years have more rains than in a “typical year.” In the future, the weather will be more erratic, with more wet years.

Planning for the minimum level of Alewife CSO control ensures failure. And it will lead to at least 26% more sewage pollution than what we have today.

Footnotes:

* Table 3-1 from MWRA’s most recent 2023-cso-annual-report , which shows that Previous Typical Year CSO volume is 7.29 million gallons:

** The CSO control requirement in the original Long Term CSO Control Plan [7.29 MG] is also used for the wasteload allocation for Alewife CSOs in the Harbor Pathogen TMDL. This substitution should not be allowed under the  Clean Water Act’s “Anti-backsliding” rules. (CWA section 303(d)(4)(A)).

Public Meeting #4 January 22, 2025 Meeting Materials:
Agenda
Recording
Slides
Poll Results

Wednesday, January 22nd at 6 pm

Meaningful improvement requires investment.

Four decades since the start of the Boston Harbor Court Case and dumping of millions of gallons of untreated sewage continues at Alewife Brook. But a new plan is being developed. It is exciting that we have the opportunity now to solve the problem.

We pay our sewer bills.

At this Wednesday’s Public Sewage Control Planning meeting, there will be talk about projects and affordability.

We support needed investment, even if that means an increase in our sewer bills.

Our strategy is simple.

1. Login to the meeting on Wednesday night.
2. Let them know that we pay our sewer bills and we support needed investment for solving the Alewife sewage problem.

Because of area flooding, we demand either
1. “Virtual Elimination,”  meaning: no sewage discharges for up to a 25-year storm; or   
2. Treatment for all Alewife sewage pollution. 

Questions in the chat.

Please bring your own awesome questions to ask in the chat. Find a way to personalize your question. Try to relate your experience with the brook, the park, or the path. Or feel free to use any of these questions:

1.

Can you please use your brilliant and beautiful engineers and consultants to create a plan to put an end to Alewife Brook sewage pollution? We’d like to see Alewife Brook as clean and pretty as your dazzling smiles!

2.

Can you please study the health impacts of Alewife Brook’s untreated sewage pollution flooding on the affected neighborhoods?

3.

This is an Environmental Justice issue. Will you please create a plan to end untreated sewage flooding into Environmental Justice neighborhood parks, yards, and homes? 

4.

Did you know that there is enormous public support for more Green Stormwater Infrastructure? Can we get more of it, including another stormwater wetland?

5.

Are you ready to become superheros? Oh, yeah? Well, then, deliver a plan that includes an engineered solution to achieve “virtual elimination,” which means no sewage discharges for up to a 25-year storm!

6.

Which is cheaper: CSO treatment for all Alewife Brook sewage discharges or an engineered solution to achieve a 25-year level of CSO control? We’ll be happy with either solution.

7.

Can you please fix the stink, immediately?

Great news! The Town of Arlington has taken action to protect the community and environment from the harmful effects of Alewife Brook sewage pollution. Under the leadership of Selectboard Chair Steve DeCourcey, Vice Chair Diane Mahon, and Town Manager Jim Feeney, the Town of Arlington has called upon Governor Healey to coordinate efforts between the MBTA, MWRA, DCR, and DEP to ensure that Combined Sewer Overflows (CSOs) and flood mitigation are an integral part of the MBTA’s Alewife Station redevelopment plan¹. The Town also reached out to MBTA General Manager Philip Eng to consider the health, safety, and environmental needs of surrounding communities in the project’s design².

Town of Arlington Calls for Green Solutions 

The Town of Arlington is urging Governor Healey and the MBTA to address untreated sewage pollution and flooding in the Alewife T Station redevelopment planning process. They propose several environmentally friendly solutions to the Alewife’s sewage flooding problem:

1. CSO storage under the Alewife site
2. Inclusion of an adjacent stormwater wetland
3. Sewer separation
4. Prohibition of new connections to combined sewers

A Watershed Moment

While the MBTA’s plan to redevelop Alewife Station presents an amazing opportunity to provide transit-based housing, it also poses a significant risk.³ The project could exacerbate the already critical CSO problem, particularly concerning Outfall Number CAM401A. This single CSO, located feet away from the proposed development site, discharged over 20 million gallons of untreated sewage in 2023, exceeding the permitted annual total for all Alewife Brook CSOs.

YOU CAN HELP! GET INVOLVED.

Join us at this month’s MBTA Board Meeting
Thursday, December 19 at 10am
At the State Transportation Building, 2nd Floor, 10 Park Plaza, Boston, MA

Please join Save the Alewife Brook at Thursday’s in-person Monthly MBTA Board Meeting. We will respectfully ask the good folks at the MBTA to support Arlington’s call for a Greener Alewife MBTA Station. To ensure community involvement in the process, we ask for the formation of an MBTA Alewife Development Advisory Committee.

Sign up here:

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Click here to RSVP for the MBTA Board Meeting

Documentation:

1. Alewife-Letter-Governor-Signed.pdf ↩︎
2. Alewife-Letter-MBTA-Signed.pdf ↩︎
3. MBTA’s Alewife Development packet ↩︎

On Saturday, September 7th, Save the Alewife Brook’s Ann McDonald and Kristin Anderson kayaked into Alewife Brook from the Mystic River to get a look at current conditions and see if the Brook was navigable by water. The plan was to paddle from the Mystic River all the way to Cambridge’s only urban forest at the Alewife Stormwater Wetland. We knew there had not been a CSO sewage discharge in several weeks but were still cautious about touching the water and sediment. 

The Department of Conservation and Recreation recently finished their impressive debris cleanup effort in the Alewife Brook from Route 2 to Broadway Bridge. Though their Engineering Department was focused on addressing flooding, removal of the debris “dams” means it is now possible to get small boats through. Our adventure would simply not have been possible before DCR’s amazing cleanup work.

Still, we encountered three major obstacles on our voyage: a nearly impassable smelly CSO sewage blob under the Broadway Bridge, downed trees in the water behind Dilboy Park, and a massive amount of CSO sediment.

The Sewage

This blob of smelly sewage “floatables” from Davis Square toilets was recently freed from Somerville’s Tannery Brook CSO debris snag during DCR’s debris removal. When we put our paddles into it, nothing seemed to move. It was stuck under Broadway Bridge, wedged between some large logs. We need to end the dumping of untreated sewage into the Brook.

The Swan

Behind Dilboy Park: The curious Sunnyside Swan greeted us peacefully. Photo by Ann McDonald.

The Brook behind Dilboy Park at Sunnyside Avenue is quite beautiful. This section of the Alewife Brook sustains many species of wildlife. The Brook here is a natural channel – not trapped in concrete. We saw painted turtles sunning themselves on logs and several schools of swimming fish.

It appears that a storm felled a few large trees into the water there. So, with great difficulty, we navigated the Brook at Dilboy Park. The downed trees should be removed before they turn into dams, restrict water flow, and threaten more flooding.

We saw some trash in the water here, too, including a bike, an umbrella, and a plastic pink flamingo. We hope to return to collect this debris with the community canoe.

The Sediment

The largest obstacle we encountered on our voyage was the massive volume of sediment trapped between the concrete walls of the channel. In 2023, suspended solids from CSO sewage discharges contributed over 16 tons of new sediment to the already clogged Alewife Brook.¹

The trees along the brook are gorgeous, making the paddling enjoyable in the densely covered stretch between Henderson Bridge and Route 2. But sediment levels here are extremely high, and the concrete channel does not sustain wildlife. You might encounter the odd duck but, despite waterfowl swimming on the surface, pretty much nothing can grow underneath in the concrete. That is why we call it “the concrete death channel.”

Dredging & Concrete Channel Removal

The Department of Conservation and Recreation’s Alewife Master Plan² includes stream channel restoration, as shown above. Removal of the sediment, by eliminating historical contaminants, would provide an immediate improvement in water quality. Removal of the concrete channel would increase wildlife habitat and provide needed flood storage.

According to the 2003 Alewife Master Plan², funding opportunities for dredging and concrete channel removal include the US Department of Transportation (USDOT), the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), the US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). State sources for funding such restoration may also exist, including through DCR and MassDOT, as part of their stormwater management responsibilities, because DCR’s Alewife Brook Parkway and MassDOT’s Route 2 are both state highways that contribute runoff to Alewife Brook.

Paddling under Route 2. Photo by Ann McDonald.

Beyond the Route 2 culvert, we navigated many fallen tree dams, making progress difficult as we continued upstream in the Little River towards Little Pond.

Ann McDonald and David White at the landing spot. Photo by Kristin Anderson.

We beached at Cambridge’s only urban forest, by the Alewife Stormwater Wetland.

After washing our hands well, we enjoyed lunch at Revival Cafe. Photo by Ann McDonald.

Heading back to Alewife Brook from Little River, under the Minuteman Bike trail. Photo by Ann McDonald.

Paddling back out to the Mystic River under the magical and historic Mystic Valley Parkway Bridge. Photo by Jimmy Johnson.

Thank you to East Arlington’s Good Neighbor George Laite, who helped us to get the kayaks into the water at the Lower Mystic Lake.

Footnotes:

1. Suspended solids calculation according to the MWRA’s 2001 Notice of Project Change for CSO Long Term Control Plan for Alewife Brook, EOEA #10335. Download available here.
2. From the DCR’s 2003 Alewife Master Plan. 

Gathering to discuss the CAM002 CSO, which predates the historic Mass Ave bridge. Volunteers received t-shirts, boatbags, and Kolsvart Swedish Fish. Photo Credit: Arthur Prokosch

Eighty Save the Alewife Brook volunteers met for an Earth Day Clean-up on Saturday, April 13, 2024. We collected trash along the entire length of the Alewife Brook, visiting all six of the Alewife’s Combined Sewer Outfalls, from the Alewife T Station to Mystic Valley Parkway. 

David Stoff near Wald Park, fishing for shopping carts. Photo by Ann McDonald.

David Stoff brought his boat out to help fish shopping carts out of the brook. The Department of Conservation & Recreation helped remove a plastic barrel in the brook. That barrel had been there for years.

Vincent Baudoin pulled three shopping carts out of the brook. Photo by Ann McDonald.

Boat meets band. Photo by Clare Nosowitz.

If only you could have seen the expression on one young volunteer’s face when we told her that we had a boat to collect trash in the brook! She was excited for two reasons: because she wanted to clean up the brook and because boats are fun. Alewife Brook should become a boatable brook for the enjoyment of all.

Sunnyside’s Native Plant Meadow

Sunnyside’s Native Meadow. Photo by David White.

The cleanup extended from the Alewife T station downstream to Sunnyside Avenue near the Mystic River. There the neighbors have established a native plant meadow.  As can be seen from the sky, the weather was very unsettled for this event.

Thanks to the Department of Conservation & Recreation!

Thanks to Matthew Perry, Kevin Hunter, and Chris from the Department of Conservation & Recreation for coming out to help with our Earth Day Cleanup.

Photos by Ann McDonald.

Thanks to the Volunteers from Cambridge, Arlington, Somerville, Belmont, Medford, Boston, Carlisle, & Spencer!

Adam Auster * Amanda Hope * Andy T * Aneil Tripathy * Ann McDonald * Annie Thompson * Arthur Prokosch * Ben Baron * Beth Melofchik * Betsy Lenora * Betty Widerski * Brad Johnson * Brian Graham * Christine Metzler * Clare Nosowitz * Constance Martin * Cynthis Stillinger * David Lough * David Stoff * David White * Diane Connor * Dillon Herring * Doug Brown * Elaine Campbell * Ellen Mass * Ellen Zimmermann * Emma Walter * Eppa Rixey * Eric Cao * Gilbert Martin * George Laite * Gwen Speeth * Hayley Sutherland * Jamie Trent * Jared Robinson * Jason Wadsworth * Javier Matamoros * Jay Bryan * Jen Clay * Joann Keesey * Joe Poirier * Josh Pieper * Kathleen Fizgerald * Kate Wolfe * Kathleen Fitzgerald * Ken Hjulstrom * Kendra Martin * Kristin Anderson * Lilli Smith * Loren Bernardi * Lynn Rosenbaum * Mark Foster * Megen McLaughlin * Melissa McWhinny * Michelle Gulen * Morgan Herring * Nancy Frost * Nelson Tetreault * Nina Paynter * Nuala Barker * Octavia Wadsworth * Pasang Lhamo * Paul Lipsky * Philip Thompson * Pooja Usgaonkar * Robert Collins * Robert Jones * Robin Shaw * Sadie Martin * Scott Levine * Shaina Blitt * Silas Poirier * Sonya Green * Stacy Cleth * Steve Rapp * Susan Denham * Sulchamchi Bedi * Talia Shire * Ulli Rapp * Veronique Bailly * Vincent Baudoin & Family

Thanks to BABAM! for bringing the party with their brass & beat!

The Boston Area Brigade of Activist Musicians played at Bicentennial Park.

Thanks to Kolsvart for supporting us with their generous donation of delicious Swedish Fish from Sweden!

We demand the following:

• Elimination of all Combined Sewer Overflows (CSOs) to End Sewage Pollution
• Separated Sewer Systems to keep Sewage out of Stormwater
• A Safe, Beautiful, Fishable Brook for the Residents and for Wildlife
• New Green Infrastructure on State Land for Stormwater Cleaning
• New Grey Infrastructure to Reduce Flooding in the Face of Climate Change

During some major storm events, the Alewife Brook floods into the parks, yards, and houses of area residents in Environmental Justice Communities. The flood water contains hazardous sewage that is discharged from the active CSOs owned by Cambridge, Somerville, and the MWRA. Climate change, with its wetter rainy seasons, more intense storms, and sea level rise, is expected to increase the severity and frequency of these events.

Furthermore, the MWRA’s sewer infrastructure is failing to meet capacity during many rain events, causing hazardous sewage pollution discharges. In fact, the rate of sewage discharge is increasing exponentially with increase in rainwater, making this a Climate Change Emergency.

Therefore, we demand that the cities of Cambridge, Somerville, and the MWRA completely stop discharging sewage pollution into the Alewife Brook. We also demand that the Commonwealth of Massachusetts invest in urgently needed improvements to the Amelia Earhart Dam and to the Draw Seven Park along the Mystic River so the area is resilient to the effects of flooding due to Climate Change.

Thank you for your support!

Add your name and email address to our Petition Comment Email shown below.

Dear MassDEP,

The health of our community and the multiple environmental justice neighborhoods along the Alewife Brook depend on your protection.

Protect our brook, our park, and our homes from pathogens in the sewage flood water by enforcing the existing Class B (boatable and fishable) Water Quality Standard – the standard that ensures that contact with the waters of the Alewife Brook is safe. Please use the Department’s regulatory authority to require that out-of-compliance CSOs in the Alewife Brook and Charles River meet existing goals. Make sure that MassDEP is a forceful advocate for Supplemental Environmental Projects for all out-of-compliance CSOs in the Alewife Brook and Charles River in Federal Court proceedings.

There must be real scrutiny of the documentation MWRA has already provided for the cost of CSO elimination. MassDEP must require MWRA, Cambridge, and Somerville each to provide a separate financial analysis explaining why they say they can’t afford to eliminate sewage discharges. These independent analyses should include costs for various alternatives, such as local CSO treatment, CSO detention tunnels and tanks, and Green Stormwater Infrastructure.

The public has a role in protecting the waters of Massachusetts. As the hearing on Tuesday, April 9, 2024 demonstrated, there is keen interest if the public is provided meaningful opportunities for participation. A single meeting and hearing is inadequate. Ongoing robust public participation must be part of the variance, particularly regarding the performance assessment of CSO controls based on “typical year” modeling. The community must have a seat at the table when compliance is reviewed so that actual measured data and human experience inform that assessment. That court-ordered performance goals remain unmet after 20 years is ample evidence of the need for public scrutiny.

Thank you for all you do to protect us and our environment.

Alewife Sewage Hearing News

–> To the 100 people who attended last Tuesday’s Alewife Sewage Hearing, held by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection

–> To the good folks at MassDEP for hosting this special session and taking public comments for more than two hours

–> To the dedicated civic leaders who were there to offer support for a safe, boatable and fishable Alewife Brook

There were powerful statements from Alewife supporters in Cambridge, Somerville, Belmont, and Arlington about the need for a safe neighborhood, park, and brook. We sent a strong message for Environmental Justice and Community Health.

Photo by David Stoff.

Local meteorologist Dave Epstein has predicted 2-5 inches of rain tonight, Wednesday, March 6th.

When we receive just less than an inch of hard, fast rain, we experience untreated sewage pollution discharges into Alewife Brook.

When we receive more than a couple of inches of hard, fast rain, the Alewife Brook floods over its bank and onto the Alewife Greenway path. This might occur around midnight tonight, depending on local precipitation.

Avoid any floodwater near Alewife Brook tomorrow and Friday. This water may be contaminated with raw sewage, which can cause illness.

In 2023, 27.8 Million Gallons of untreated sewage pollution was dumped in Alewife Brook by the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority, Somerville, and Cambridge.¹

So what does that number mean? A way to visualize 28 millions gallons is to imagine a 6-story building the size of a football field full of sewage pollution. Imagine if all the toilets, sinks, showers, hospital drains and industrial process water in Cambridge and Somerville emptied into the Alewife Brook for a day. That would be 28 million gallons. The sewage dumped into the brook in 2023 was four times worse than the polluters’ authorized discharge amount of 7.29 million gallons per year.²

Because of Climate Change and aging infrastructure, the sewage pollution in the Alewife is worse now than it was three decades ago before a dollar was spent, and before any projects were begun to improve conditions as part of the Boston Harbor Cleanup Court Case.³

It’s not just sewage pollution –
it’s sewage pollution flooding. 

Last year, Alewife Brook flooded three times, overtopping its bank and releasing untreated Combined Sewer Overflows of human and industrial wastes onto the Alewife Reservation.  When Alewife Brook floods, CSOs have been dumping untreated sewage into the Brook. Area residents from Somerville, Cambridge, and Arlington were seen bicycling, jogging, and pushing baby strollers through untreated sewage flood water on State Park Land.

August 8th 2023

Area residents biked, jogged, walked, and pushed baby carriages through untreated sewage pollution after the Alewife Brook flooded the popular Alewife Greenway path.

September 19th 2023

A child rode her bike through Alewife sewage flood water and subsequently got stuck in the muck so she and her bike fell into the sewage. 

December 18th 2023

CSO sewage flooding in Cambridge inundated a homeless encampment on MBTA property behind the Alewife T parking garage, just feet away from Cambridge’s worst CSO. If we allow untreated sewage pollution to continue, this scene may well be a view of the future for the other 5000 people living in the Alewife’s 100-year floodplain.

Thank you to the hundreds of Alewife Supporters who registered & attended the 2023 Public CSO meeting on 11/15/2023. 

We appreciate the support received from the many residents in Somerville, Cambridge, Arlington, Belmont, Medford, and beyond!

Areeg Abd-Alla, Melanie Abrams, Jonathan Agger, Kristin Anderson, John Anderson, Penny Antonoglou, Marina Atlas, Sarah  Bell, Andrew Bellows, Eugene Benson, Loren Bernardi, Leiran Biton, David Boyer, Leah Broder, Ray Brown, Douglas Brown, Seth Bryant, Jonathan Burgess, Linda Burgess, Scott Burgess, Laurette Burgess, Melissa Campbell, Tricia Carney, Alida Castillo, Jeffrey Chagnon, Monique Chaplin, Susan Chapnick, Stephen  Clark , Stephen  Clark , Ellen Cohen, Eileen Coleman, Keith Collins, Cathy Coniaris, Marja Copeland, Michael Cunningham, Katie Daehn, Andrew Dague, Matthew De Remer, Shawn DeRosa, Andrew DeSantis, Alina Dess, D Devney, Angela DiTucci, Andreae Downs, Sandy Durmaskin, Sandy Durmaskin, Erin Ellingwood, Ruth Faas, Michael Fager, Susan Fagerstrom, Kara Falise, Richard Falzone, Jim Feeney, Maggie  Fellows, David Fichter, Peter Fiore, Lori Fitz, Ben Flaumenhaft, Chelsea Foster, Nancy Frost, Andrea  Ganino , Jon Gersh, Kathryn Goldenoak, Alix Gordon, Michael Greenblatt, Andrew Greenspon, Caleb Groen, Karen L Grossman, Lois Grossman, Alice Grossman, Charlie Hagedorn, S. Hall, Greg Harris, Max Heller, Patrick  Herron, Greg Hill, Andrew Hrycyna, Qumrunnessa Huda, Vladimir  Jandejsek, Sue Janowitz, Mark Jewell, Liz Jochnick, Anju Joglekar, Isaiah Johnson, Kathryn Johnson, Kathryn Johnson, Jessica  Kinner, George Laite, Kane Larin, Alexander Lee, Jennifer Letourneau, Marc Levy, Pasang Lhamo, Stephen Linder, Christopher Logan, Melissa Ludtke, Kristin MacDougall, Diane Mahon, Ryan Maloney, Peg McAdam, Michael McCord, Ann McDonald, Melissa McWhinney, Nabia Meghelli, Beth Melofchik, Sarah Merin, Elizabeth Merrick, Amy Mertl, Christine Metzler, Melissa Miguel, Beryl Minkle, Addison Minott, Tyler Mourey, Linda Moussouris, Noreen Murphy, Anna Muszynski, Jeffrey North, Clare Nosowitz, Tracy Olson, Emily Paulsen, Andrea Paulson, Stephen Perkins, Rebecca Persson, Paul Pinella, Helen Quach, Michael Quinn, Mike Rademacher, Amy Ramsay, Steve Rapp, Eric Reuss, McKenna Roberts, Wendy Robinson, Michelle Robinson , Marcela Rodriguez, Dave Rogers, Max Rome, Katie Ronan, Paula Rosenof, Mark Rosenthal, Ruth Ryals, Yaser Samerraei, Margaretta  Sangree , Amy Schofield, A Hugh Scott, Talia Shire, Adam Shire, Lou Silvestro, Andrew Smith, Gwen Speeth, Brad Spitzbart, George Stephans, George Stephans, ann stewart, Cynthia  Stillinger , Sam Stivers, David Stoff, Diane Stokes, Barbara Strell, Joanna Sullivan, Dana Sussman, Francis T, Megan Talkington, Penelope Taylor, Liz Thorstenson, Zhenyu Tian, John Tortelli, Charlie Trageser, Cambria Ung, Dan Vallee, David VanHoven, Peter Varga, Andy Visser, Rachel Wagner, Al Weiner, Barbara Weir, David White, Jane Whitmore, Julie Wood, David Wright, Jennifer Yanco, Marijane Zeller, Mike A 

Thank you to Mystic River Watershed Association’s Andy Hrycyna.

Andy Hrycyna has been focused on Alewife Brook CSOs and brought the 2023 CSO totals to our attention. You can take a deep dive into Andy’s awesome analysis here.

Footnotes:

1. Based on preliminary data reported to the state at the Commonwealth’s Department of Energy & Environmental Affairs’ CSO Data Portal.  1/15/24 ↩︎
2. From Exhibit B to Second Stipulation of the United States and the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority on Responsibility and Legal Liability for Combined Sewer Overflows, as amended by the Federal District Court on May 7, 2008 (the “Second CSO Stipulation”), the Long Term Control Plan permitted annual total for Alewife Brook is 7.29 MG. This really represents an annual average limit since there will always be variations from year to year. However, for the past nine years, the average annual discharges have been 18.4 MG – more than twice the permitted level. ↩︎
3. MWRA’s 12/30/2021 Final CSO Post Construction Monitoring Program and Performance Assessment Report,  table 2-2, page 2-4, “1992 System Conditions” totaled 26.81 MG ↩︎