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Save the Alewife Brook

environmental health is community health

Document Category: Somerville


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
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
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 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
Somerville Updated CSO Control Plan Scope of Work and Schedule 04/01/2022

…

CSOs, Somerville
csos somerville
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
Somerville Stormwater Map

Dated June 15, 2020. Awesome map of Somerville stormwater, combined system, and sanitary system. Includes: …

CSOs, Somerville, Stormwater
csos somerville 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
Somerville’s IDDE Stormwater MS4 Plan, June 2020

Somerville’s top six worst stormwater outfalls discharge into the Alewife …

EPA, Somerville, Stormwater
epa somerville stormwater
Somerville Stormwater Management Map, June 2020

Stormwater Management Map. Includes: Storm Discharge Points, CSO Outfalls, Stormwater Manholes, Sanitary and Combined Manholes, …

CSOs, Somerville, Stormwater
csos 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
Somerville’s 2020 Stormwater Management Plan

This document outlines the stormwater management practices that are currently in place and ones that …

EPA, Legal, Somerville, Stormwater
epa legal somerville stormwater
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
MDC’s 2003 Alewife Master Plan Map North

This is the MDC (rebranded as DCR) map of the Arlington and Somerville half of …

Arlington, MDC and DCR, Somerville
arlington mdc-and-dcr somerville

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