Document Category: Climate Change
| Title | Summary | Categories | Link | hf:doc_categories |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | |
| 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 | |
| 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 | |
| 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 | |
| H.886 Fact Sheet: An Act Relative to Combined Sewer Overflows | Please Support H.886: An Act Relative to Combined Sewer Overflows Filed by Representatives Adrian Madaro … | Climate Change, CSOs, MWRA | climate-change csos mwra | |
| 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 | |
| EPA response to Draft Scope, sent to Somerville | This is the EPA’s response to Somerville’s new CSO control plan “draft … | Climate Change, CSOs, EPA, Green Infrastructure, MDC and DCR, Somerville, Stormwater | climate-change csos epa green-infrastructure mdc-and-dcr somerville stormwater | |
| March 2022 Letter to Regulators from StAB & Watershed Associations | March 11, 2022 Via email Regional Administrator David Cash Environmental Protection Agency, Region … | Climate Change, CSOs, EPA, Flooding, Green Infrastructure, MassDEP, MWRA | climate-change csos epa flooding green-infrastructure dep mwra | |
| 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 | |
| Somerville’s 2017 Infrastructure Presentation | New projects described here include combined sewer separation, flood control are encouraging. Interesting data about … | Climate Change, CSOs, Flooding, Green Infrastructure, Historical, Somerville | climate-change csos flooding green-infrastructure historical somerville | |
| 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 |