SUNDAY OCTOBER 12, from 11 am to 1:30 pm March with us from Davis Square to Harvard Square Get a FREE t-shirt when you march with us in the parade!March to the beat of the Dirty Water Brass Band and Puppeteers Cooperative. RSVP here to March with Us in the Parade: Parade with us, alongContinue reading “Join us in the 2025 HONK! Parade”
Tag Archives: combined sewer overflows
MassDEP Calls for Improvements for Alewife Brook
The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection issued a new Water Quality Variance for Alewife Brook. The new Water Quality Variance still allows discharges of untreated sewage into the Brook. However, MassDEP’s Water Quality Variance now includes some measures to reduce the harmful effects of untreated sewage pollution. Thanks to your comments and MassDEP’s hard work,Continue reading “MassDEP Calls for Improvements for Alewife Brook”
Big Splash at 2024 HONK! Parade
We made a huge splash at this year’s HONK! parade, once again doubling the number of our supporters. Youth members handed out hundreds of fish stickers to child spectators along the way. Hundreds of petition signatures were collected from Somervillians and Cantabridgians. And we handed out 1000 flyers! photos by Jimmy Johnson 1000 Flyers handedContinue reading “Big Splash at 2024 HONK! Parade”
DCR Cleans the Alewife Brook
In December 2023, Save the Alewife Brook took Department of Conservation and Recreation Commissioner Brian Arrigo for a dramatic tour of Alewife Brook’s sewage pollution, flooding, & inequity. Hopes were high that something great would come from the meeting. This month we found out what! There were rumblings that something was afoot this spring when CharlesContinue reading “DCR Cleans the Alewife Brook”
Biodiversity Builders Learn the ABCs of CSOs
On August 8th, 2024, Save the Alewife Brook provided an “Alewife Brook CSO*s 101” class and walking tour to students participating in the local Biodiversity Builders program. We explained the basics and some of the details of Alewife Brook’s Combined Sewer Overflows**. Our course materials are available for download below. Biodiversity Builders is an environmentalContinue reading “Biodiversity Builders Learn the ABCs of CSOs”
Alewife Brook Water Quality Variance: Flaws and Solutions
In August 2024, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) may issue a water quality variance for Alewife Brook to allow CSO sewage discharges to continue through 2029. Water quality variances for Alewife Brook have been issued for the last 25 years, since 1999. Discharge of sewage intoContinue reading “Alewife Brook Water Quality Variance: Flaws and Solutions”
Great News from the State House
We have exciting news to share from the State House. Progress was made on our Combined Sewer Overflow Legislation to reduce sewage pollution! Late last week, the bill reported out favorably by the Joint Committee on Environment and Natural Resources. This means the bill moves forward! Passage of our CSO bill would be a majorContinue reading “Great News from the State House”
A DCR Tour of Alewife Sewage Pollution, Flooding, & Inequity
Zach Crowley, David White, Steven Nutter, Gwen Speeth, Brian Arrigo, Gene Benson, David Stoff in front of the flooded-out Alewife Greenway path. Photo credit: Kristin Anderson DEPARTMENT OF CONSERVATION & RECREATION, SAVE THE ALEWIFE BROOK, & GREEN CAMBRIDGE Take A Tour of Alewife Sewage Pollution, Flooding, & Inequity A Perfectly Stormy Day A storm rolledContinue reading “A DCR Tour of Alewife Sewage Pollution, Flooding, & Inequity”
Alewife Brook CSOs & Flood Map
The following is an interactive map that is fairly complex with a lot of information. The six red dots are the six Alewife CSOs that discharge untreated sewage pollution into the Alewife Brook. “1% Annual Chance of Flood Hazard” is a FEMA designation for the “100-year” flood area. That means that there is a 1% chanceContinue reading “Alewife Brook CSOs & Flood Map”
YOU MADE A DIFFERENCE!
Thank you to the over 200 supporters for coming out against sewage pollution at the November 15th CSO Meeting #3. Many Somerville supporters came out! Cambridge was there! Arlington showed up! Folks from Belmont and Medford and Winchester were there! There is power in numbers and over 300 supporters registered for this meeting. Thank you.Continue reading “YOU MADE A DIFFERENCE!”
CSO Meeting Talking Points
Tonight’s meeting is our chance to speak out! Come to the Public Sewage Pollution Control meeting tonight from 6 pm to 8 pm and speak up for Alewife Brook. It’s ok if you are a few minutes late! Please show up. Be Prepared. Be prepared to hear excuses about why Massachusetts Water Resources Authority, Somerville,Continue reading “CSO Meeting Talking Points”
PUBLIC ALEWIFE SEWAGE CONTROL MEETING #3
Wednesday, Nov 15th at 6 pm END UNTREATED ALEWIFE SEWAGE POLLUTION The Alewife Brook has the largest volumes of untreated combined sewage pollution discharges in the Greater Boston area. It is flood-prone and runs through densely populated neighborhoods, with 5,000 people in its 100-year flood plain, in multiple Environmental Justice communities. EPA’s EJ Screener ratesContinue reading “PUBLIC ALEWIFE SEWAGE CONTROL MEETING #3”
Join us for our Community Meeting
Please join us on Sunday, November 5th at 7 pm to discuss the new Alewife Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) Control Plan. The third public CSO planning meeting will be November 15th. We are very excited to strategize about it with you! What would you like to see in the new Alewife sewage pollution control plan?Continue reading “Join us for our Community Meeting”
“Typical Year” CSO Modeling Fails for Alewife Brook
Please join us 6 pm on Thursday night, 12/15/22, at the Alewife Sewage Pollution Planning Meeting #2 by registering here. At this meeting, Cambridge, Somerville, and the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority will talk about the new Future “Typical Year” sewage pollution modeling which will be used for new sewer system infrastructure planning and future performanceContinue reading ““Typical Year” CSO Modeling Fails for Alewife Brook”
Speak out! Email Your City Now.
If you are not sure you can attend the Second Public Sewage Pollution Meeting on December 15, please send an email to City Hall and to the department heads at Cambridge DPW and Somerville DPW. Your voice needs to be heard and your city wants to hear from you. Click Here to Email Your City!Continue reading “Speak out! Email Your City Now.”
Thank You for Considering Climate Change
by Kristin Anderson & David White There’s quite a lot for Save the Alewife Brook to be thankful for on these last days of November in 2022. We are especially thankful that the public’s voice is being heard and that Climate Change projections will be included in the new plan to end untreated sewage pollutionContinue reading “Thank You for Considering Climate Change”
Letter to MassDEP
On November 21, 2022, Save the Alewife Brook sent a letter to Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection. This letter is in response to the 36-month extension that MWRA, Cambridge, and Somerville have requested for completing the planning of the new Alewife Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) plan. In our 11/21/2022 letter to MassDEP, we wrote: “WeContinue reading “Letter to MassDEP”
Join us for our Community Meeting
Please join us on Sunday, December 4th at 7 pm to discuss the new Alewife Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) Control Plan. The second public CSO planning meeting will be December 15th and we are very excited to strategize about it with you! What would you like to see in the new Alewife sewage pollution controlContinue reading “Join us for our Community Meeting”
How the Myth of the Boston Harbor Cleanup Hides a Subsidy to Pollute
by David Stoff I’m going to tell you a story. I have a point of view. I’m not hiding it. Depending on your point of view, this story is either history, or myth. It’s the story of the cleanup of Boston Harbor. Think it’s over? You can see the crown jewel, the Deer Island TreatmentContinue reading “How the Myth of the Boston Harbor Cleanup Hides a Subsidy to Pollute“
Join us at HONK!Fest
SUNDAY OCTOBER 9, from 11 am to 1:30 pmMarch with us in the HONK! Parade,at 11 am gather at the Day Street Parking Lot in Davis Square, Somerville ending in Harvard Square, Cambridge, at 1:30 pm Parade with us, along with musicians and puppeteers. Join us, to demand a safe, clean, and restored brook, forContinue reading “Join us at HONK!Fest”
Why is the MWRA hiding sewage pollution?
The Boston Harbor Clean-Up worked wonders in the Boston Harbor and in the Charles River, but Massachusetts Water Resources Authority’s claim that they have achieved an 85% reduction of combined sewer overflows to the Alewife Brook is not consistent with their own data about the vast quantities of sewage actually discharged into our little brookContinue reading “Why is the MWRA hiding sewage pollution?”
Public CSO Meeting Strategy
We need a strong show of support on Wednesday night. The MWRA must make major upgrades to their regional sewer system. Their sewer system reaches capacity during many storm events. This is when sewage pollution is dumped into our rivers and streams. The MWRA will not fix the problem if they think no one cares.Continue reading “Public CSO Meeting Strategy”
Now is Your Time to Make a Difference
Public Meeting on Combined Sewer Overflows Wednesday June 29th at 6 PM We need you now! On Wednesday, June 29th, at 6 PM, Cambridge, Somerville and the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) are holding their first public meeting via Zoom to discuss Combined Sewer Overflows (CSOs). The legal limit for sewage discharge in the AlewifeContinue reading “Now is Your Time to Make a Difference”
The Alewife Brook Resolution
On June 8th, 2022, Arlington Town Meeting voted 197-1 to pass a Resolution for the Alewife Brook that states: “Town Meeting declares the Alewife Brook to be a valuable natural resource deserving of equal commitment to rehabilitate and restore to the highest water quality standards feasible for wildlife, resident abutters, and recreation; and FURTHER, thatContinue reading “The Alewife Brook Resolution”
Exciting News from EPA
In response the new CSO (Combined Sewer Outfall) control plan “draft scopes”, the EPA has sent letters to MWRA, Somerville, and Cambridge, addressing every single one of our concerns, which are described in our “Alewife Brook Path to Zero Sewage Pollution“. What is a “draft scope”? A draft scope is framework for the planning ofContinue reading “Exciting News from EPA”
A Path to Zero Sewage Pollution
for a Safe, Beautiful, Fishable Alewife Brook for Residents and Wildlife Save the Alewife Brook (StAB) is working hard for dramatic improvements in and around the Alewife Brook. Planning will be starting soon for what may be a huge investment to clean up the brook and make environmental improvements! The great cities of Cambridge andContinue reading “A Path to Zero Sewage Pollution”
Earth Day Alewife Path Cleanup
& CSO Tour with Ghost Fish Art Installation On Saturday April 23rd, 2022, Save the Alewife Brook volunteers gathered along the Alewife Greenway for a trash pickup, CSO tour, and ended the event at the Ghost Fish Art Installation at Mass Ave and Route 16. Save the Alewife Brook thanks the two dozen people fromContinue reading “Earth Day Alewife Path Cleanup”
The Dirty Secret About the Alewife Sewer System:
It was Designed to Pollute In 2015, the Massachusetts Water Resource Authority reconstructed and enlarged the Combined Sewer Outfall known as MWR003 in the Alewife wetland.1 This CSO was enlarged and functionality was added to it, to provide hydraulic pressure relief for the system downstream. Before the MWRA performed the work on this CSO inContinue reading “The Dirty Secret About the Alewife Sewer System:”
Meetings with EPA & DEP & MWRA
Last week, the Charles River Watershed Association, the Mystic River Watershed Association, and Save the Alewife Brook had meetings with the federal Environmental Protection Agency and the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection to discuss our recent letter to the regulators. This comes at a time when new plans are coming due to eliminate combined sewerContinue reading “Meetings with EPA & DEP & MWRA”
We’re Speaking Truth to Power!
On March 11th, 2022, the Charles River Watershed Association, the Mystic River Watershed Association, and Save the Alewife Brook came together to speak with one voice to the Federal Environmental Protection Agency and the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection. Together, we collaborated on the following letter about the decades-long Combined Sewer Overflows (CSOs) work; weContinue reading “We’re Speaking Truth to Power!”
March 13th Community Meeting
Join us on Sunday March 13th at 7 PM Please join us on Sunday March 13th at 7 pm for Save the Alewife Brook’s March Community Meeting! We’ll discuss the looming April 1st deadline, when Cambridge, Somerville, and the MWRA are required to submit the initial scope of their new Long Term CSO (Combined SewerContinue reading “March 13th Community Meeting”
MWRA Final CSO Meeting Bombshells
On February 17 2022 the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) hosted a public briefing to discuss their Final combined sewer overflow (CSO) Performance Assessment Report. This was based on their four-year CSO assessment, which looked at their system’s CSO performance from 2018 to 2021. This briefing was a requirement of the Federal Boston Harbor Clean-upContinue reading “MWRA Final CSO Meeting Bombshells”
MWRA’s Final CSO Report Meeting
IMPORTANT ALEWIFE CSO MEETING:THURSDAY FEB 17th at 10 AM The Massachusetts Water Resource Authority (MWRA) is holding an online meeting this Thursday, February 17th, at 10 am. They plan to claim victory for their Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) project. Their good work is a victory for Boston Harbor, but what about the Alewife Brook? TwentyContinue reading “MWRA’s Final CSO Report Meeting”
MWRA CSO Report Provides No Solution to Alewife’s Problems
On December 30, 2021, the Massachusetts Water Resource Authority (MWRA) published its anticipated Final CSO Performance Assessment, as part of a series of regulatory reports that have been submitted to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection. These reports are a requirement of the landmark Boston Harbor Cleanup Case.Continue reading “MWRA CSO Report Provides No Solution to Alewife’s Problems”
The Save the Alewife Brook Field Recording Library Project
You can see and smell the Alewife Brook when you walk along the Alewife Greenway, the path that runs along the eastern edge of Arlington, parallel to the Alewife Brook, from the Minuteman Bike Trail to the Mystic River. Seeing it and smelling it is how most people experience the Alewife Brook. Silas Price, however,Continue reading “The Save the Alewife Brook Field Recording Library Project”