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Save the Alewife Brook

environmental health is community health

Document Category: Cambridge


TitleSummaryCategoriesLinkhf:doc_categories
MassDEP’s 11-17-2025 letter to MWRA Board

Based on the information presented at the October 29 meeting, MassDEP is concerned that Recommended …

Cambridge, CSOs, MassDEP, MWRA, Somerville
cambridge csos dep mwra somerville
Better Know a CSO

A Tour of the Alewife Brook Combined Sewer Outfalls From our CSOs 101 Course …

Arlington, Belmont, Cambridge, Climate Change, CSOs, EPA, Flooding
arlington belmont cambridge climate-change csos epa flooding
kayaking Broadway Bridge 09-07-2024

On Alewife Brook, behind Dilboy Park, under the Broadway Bridge, kayaking through a mass of …

Arlington, Cambridge, CSOs, Somerville
arlington cambridge csos somerville
Alewife Sewage Pollution Flooding

During heavy rainstorms, 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 dumped into the Brook from the active Combined Sewer Overflows (CSOs) owned by Cambridge, Somerville, and the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (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. MWRA’s sewer infrastructure is failing to meet capacity during many rains, causing hazardous sewage pollution discharges.

In 2023, Alewife Brook flooded repeatedly, overtopping its banks and inundating the Greenway of Alewife Brook Reservation State Park with untreated Combined Sewer Overflow discharges of human and industrial waste. Area residents from Somerville, Cambridge, and Arlington unknowingly bicycled, jogged, and pushed baby strollers through untreated sewage flood water in their state park.

The Alewife Greenway Path is a heavily used transportation and recreation corridor that runs through multiple Environmental Justice neighborhoods. The Alewife Greenway Path is on DCR land and it links Medford, Somerville, and Arlington pedestrians and cyclists to the Alewife Red Line T stop.

Arlington, Cambridge, Climate Change, CSOs, EPA, Flooding, MassDEP, MDC and DCR, MWRA, Somerville
arlington cambridge climate-change csos epa flooding dep mdc-and-dcr mwra somerville
MyWRA Alewife Brook Watershed Map

from Alewife Brook CSOs 101 course material thank you to Mystic River Watershed …

Arlington, Belmont, Cambridge, MDC and DCR, MyRWA, Somerville
arlington belmont cambridge mdc-and-dcr myrwa somerville
MassDEP 2024 Draft Water Quality Variance to Allow for CSO discharges to Alewife Brook

This is MassDEP’s 2024 draft of the Water Quality Variance for Alewife Brook, which would …

Arlington, Belmont, Cambridge, CSOs, EPA, MassDEP, MWRA, Somerville
arlington belmont cambridge csos epa dep mwra somerville
2024 Comments on DEPWater Quality Variance – Charles River Watershed Association

“… we are deeply concerned that the proposed variance is failing to protect a valuable natural resource and is not delivering continued, meaningful progress. As drafted, the Tentative Variance is inadequate as it allows for continued pollution without requiring substantive corrective actions during the variance period… We do not support the Tentative Variance as written… the ultimate goal should be nothing less than complete or functional elimination of the CSO discharges… The current financial analysis is inadequate for determining the economic feasibility of CSO elimination… Combined Sewer Overflow is an Environmental Justice issue. Environmental Justice (EJ) is a stated priority for the federal government and the Healey-Driscoll administration.”

Cambridge, Climate Change, CSOs, MassDEP
cambridge climate-change csos dep
MWRA Joint Press Release April 2023

Dated April 14th, 2023 Joint Press Release APRIL 2023 Alewife Brook/Upper Mystic Combined Sewer Overflow …

Arlington, Belmont, Cambridge, CSOs, MWRA, Somerville
arlington belmont cambridge csos mwra somerville
FUNDING REQUEST: Alewife Brook Hydraulic Study for Climate Resilience and Flood Mitigation

Alewife Brook Hydraulic Study for Climate Resilience and Flood Mitigation in Arlington, Belmont, Cambridge, and …

Arlington, Belmont, Cambridge, Climate Change, Flooding, Somerville
arlington belmont cambridge climate-change flooding somerville
MWRA CSO MAP

This is the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority map from 2016, which we believe has not …

Arlington, Belmont, Cambridge, CSOs, MWRA, Somerville
arlington belmont cambridge csos mwra somerville
Typical Year Rainfall Analysis for Cambridge-Somerville-MWRA Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) Control Plans

Development of Future Typical Year of Rainfall Technical Information in Support of the December 15th …

Cambridge, Climate Change, CSOs, MWRA, Somerville
cambridge climate-change csos mwra somerville
Alewife CSO Permittees Request Extension

The 2019 Alewife Brook CSO Variances (permits to pollute through sewage pollution discharges) expire on …

Cambridge, Climate Change, CSOs, MassDEP, MWRA, Somerville
cambridge climate-change csos dep mwra somerville
EPA response to Draft Scope, sent to Cambridge

This is the EPA’s guidance for Cambridge, regarding their new CSO control plan “draft …

Cambridge, Climate Change, CSOs, EPA, Flooding, Green Infrastructure, MDC and DCR, Stormwater
cambridge climate-change csos epa flooding green-infrastructure mdc-and-dcr stormwater
City of Cambridge CSO Control Plan Scope

…

Cambridge, CSOs
cambridge csos
1978 MAPC Boston Area Waste Treatment Management Plan

…

Arlington, Cambridge, CSOs, Flooding, Historical, Somerville, Stormwater
arlington cambridge csos flooding historical somerville stormwater
SOM001A Tannery Brook Area

…

Cambridge, Somerville
cambridge somerville
SOM001A Tannery Brook 1873 Atlas Detail

This is a cool image of the Tannery Brook, taken from the 1873 …

Cambridge, CSOs, Somerville
cambridge csos somerville
Cambridge Catchment and Combined Sewer Map

This is a very cool and easy-to-read map of Cambridge’s stormwater catchments. It is well …

Cambridge, CSOs, MWRA, Stormwater
cambridge csos mwra stormwater
MWRA Final CSO Performance Assessment Hearing Notification

Massachusetts Water Resources Authority PRESS RELEASE Date: January 6, 2022 Contact: Ria Convery (617) 788-1105, ria.convery@mwra.com …

Arlington, Cambridge, CSOs, EPA, Legal, MassDEP, MWRA, Somerville
arlington cambridge csos epa legal dep mwra somerville
MWRA 2021 Final CSO Performance Assessment

MWRA CSO Report is Unfair to Alewife’s Environmental Justice Populations On December 30, 2021, the …

Arlington, Cambridge, CSOs, MWRA, Somerville, Stormwater
arlington cambridge csos mwra somerville stormwater
MWRA BIANNUAL COMPLIANCE AND PROGRESS REPORT AS OF JUNE 25, 2021

CIVIL ACTION No. 85-0489-RGS UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT for the DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS UNITED STATES …

Cambridge, CSOs, EPA, Legal, MassDEP, MDC and DCR, MWRA, Somerville, Stormwater
cambridge csos epa legal dep mdc-and-dcr mwra somerville stormwater
United States v. Metropolitan District Commission July 2021

Civil Action 83-1614-RGS United States District Court, District of Massachusetts United States v. Metropolitan District …

Arlington, Cambridge, CSOs, EPA, Legal, MWRA, Somerville
arlington cambridge csos epa legal mwra somerville
MPC 1904 Report on Improvement of the Upper Mystic and Alewife by John R Freeman

1904 Metropolitan Parks Commission Report on Alewife Improvements, including tidal gates and channelization of the …

Arlington, Cambridge, Flooding, Historical, Somerville
arlington cambridge flooding historical somerville
Court Case 2016 Document, including Compliance Order 239, USA v. MDC & CLF v. MDC

Doug Foy, Esq., director of the Conservation Law Foundation, who brought the groundbreaking Boston Harbor Clean-up lawsuit, probably quoting an ubran sociologist, said, “A great city had three characteristics: It had world-renown cultural and educational institutions. It had enduring distinctive residential neighborhoods, and it had a body of water that it embraced.”

Cambridge, Climate Change, CSOs, EPA, Green Infrastructure, Legal, MassDEP, MDC and DCR, MWRA, Somerville
cambridge climate-change csos epa green-infrastructure legal dep mdc-and-dcr mwra somerville
Cambridge’s 2017 Alewife Sewer Separation Project Overview

Wondering what’s involved in combined sewer separation and CSO elimination work? This is Cambridge’s $90 …

Cambridge, CSOs, Green Infrastructure
cambridge csos green-infrastructure
MDC 2003 Master Plan Map South

This is the Cambridge half of the MDC (rebranded DCR) 2003 Master Plan Map …

Arlington, Cambridge, Flooding, Green Infrastructure, MDC and DCR
arlington cambridge flooding green-infrastructure mdc-and-dcr
Alewife Reservation Stormwater Wetland MCWRA 2017 Symposium

This is a powerpoint presentation by Carter Stantec for the 2017 Massachusetts Coalition for Water …

Cambridge, CSOs, Green Infrastructure
cambridge csos green-infrastructure
Cambridge’s 1979 Alewife Development Plan, aka The Fishbook

This is Cambridge’s Alewife Development Planning document from 1979. The MBTA’s Alewife T stop was …

Cambridge, Flooding, Historical
cambridge flooding historical
Cambridge’s 2019 Alewife District Plan

This is Cambridge’s 2019 Alewife Planning and Development document. It includes information about flooding, water …

Cambridge, Climate Change, CSOs, Flooding, Green Infrastructure
cambridge climate-change csos flooding green-infrastructure

© Save the Alewife Brook. All rights reserved.
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  • Home
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