CRWA in the News

Water officials warn of duplex project's impact

By Leslie H. Dixon 

Milford Daily News, Thursday, June 2, 2005

MILFORD -- Officials at the Charles River Watershed Association say the Waldenwoods project will result in a net water deficit to the Charles River headwaters.

The comment was made by the Auburndale nonprofit association after officials reviewed the draft environmental impact report on a planned residential development and proposed recreational fields for nearby town land.

The CRWA is working with local, state and federal water resource managers and regulators to identify and implement long-term solutions to ensure adequate supply and the ecological health of the state's water bodies, including the Charles River. The organization said Massachusetts is experiencing dwindling water supplies due to direct withdrawal of water from the Charles and its tributaries.

In its report to Secretary Ellen Roy Herzfelder of the Executive Office of Environmental Affairs, the CRWA has pinpointed a number of areas of concerns from irrigation to the effect of the development on wildlife habitat. They have also made some recommendations.

In its report, the CRWA said upstream of the Milford Wastewater Treatment Facility, the Charles River already has extremely low flows, in part due to Milford Water Co.'s surface water withdrawals at Echo Lake and regional sewers.

"In some of the upper reaches above Milford Pond, CRWA and US Geological Survey have documented dry riverbeds in the summer. Milford Pond is severely congested by vegetation and sediment, in part due to low flows," CRWA officials stated in the report.

A Target Fish Community assessment by the state Division of Fisheries and Wildlife is now under way in the Charles River. Data recently collected indicate the fish population has been hard hit in the upper Charles River watershed. Fish found there are more typical of a those found in ponds rather than a flowing river. Only 2 percent of the fish are river fish, as opposed to pond species, like carp.

The CRWA also said drainage from the development site is both northerly toward Echo Lake and southerly toward the Charles River, both public water supply sources. According to the CRWA, the site also contains rare species habitat. "The project will alter almost 50 acres and 18.45 acres will be rendered impervious," said the CRWA in its report.

The following are some of the organization's other comments:

• The amount of turf in the project should be drastically reduced. Little of the water used for lawn and field irrigation is returned to the aquifer and compacted lawns in themselves are relatively impervious surfaces hindering recharge.
• The CRWA is concerned about the connection between bedrock withdrawals, which will occur when approximately five irrigation wells are drilled to meet irrigation needs for the residential area and the playing fields, and groundwater levels. All irrigation wells should be metered so volume can be measured. A monitoring program to assess impacts to surface water from the irrigation wells should also be required.
• The proponent should explore the use of artificial turf on the playing fields to reduce the demand for water, said the CRWA. While artificial turf provides somewhat lower wildlife and biological diversity, and can in some cases increase heat, it requires no irrigation, pesticides, herbicides or fungicides, and it facilitates stormwater recharge.
• The CRWA said field surveys approved by the Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program are currently under way for the entire site.
• Effective stormwater management for the site is key.
• Given its sensitive location, the CRWA believes the project can and should go beyond the minimum requirements of the Department of Environmental Protection Stormwater Management Policy. The proponent should commit to using low-impact development techniques in the project's design and construction.

The entire report will become part of the record as local, state and federal agencies review the project.

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