The
River Current ~ May 5, 2010 ~ Issue 112
The e-newsletter of the
Charles River Watershed
Association
...bringing our backyard river to your door...
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In this issue
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1) Thousands enjoy CRWA's Weekend on the Charles
On April 24, approximately 3,600 volunteers came out to pick up litter from the banks of the river during the 11th Annual Earth Day Charles River Cleanup. Volunteers cleared an estimated 10-15 tons of trash from the banks of the river at more than 100 sites from Milford to Boston. Many thanks to all our volunteers and sponsors, including New Balance Foundation, Hyatt Regency Cambridge, Mix 104.1, and Charles River Apparel.
On April 25, over 1,200 paddlers competed in the Run of the Charles Canoe and Kayak Race as more than one hundred volunteers and thousands of spectators cheered on racers from Dedham to the finish line at DCR's Artesani Park in Brighton.
In the 26-Mile Flatwater Canoe Marathon, the team of Andy Triebold from Spring Harbor, MI and Josh Sheldon of Potterville, MI paired up to take first place. In the 24-Mile Relay Race, the Quinobequin Canoe Club of Ashland, MA posted the winning time for the seventh year in a row. The Lantern Films team of Edgartown, MA placed first in the Corporate Relay. In the 19-Mile Races, the fastest boat was a kayak paddled by Andrius Zinkevicus of Dover, MA. In the 9-Mile Race, Eric Schulz of Johnson, VT posted the winning time, and the 6-Mile Race was won by Chris Chappell of Wayland, MA.
In addition, The Run of the Charles Finish Line Festival was pleased to host the setting of a new Guinness World Records® record for the "Most People Throwing Rubber Chickens at the Same Time" . Read a news article on the record, or click here for more details on the race.
2) MWRA's water main break impacts the river
The Massachusetts Water Resources Authority's (MWRA) water connector pipe that began leaking Saturday morning (and then broke completely) resulted in over 8 million gallons an hour of water pouring into the Charles River. For a time, the flow of the river at the Waltham gage, downstream of the break, doubled from approximately 350 cubic feet per second (cfs) to approximately 700 cfs. The pipe connection broke 20 feet below ground near Recreation Road, and the gushing water carried an estimated 400 cubic yards of soil and sediment directly into the river. The pipe was repaired Sunday morning, and a boil water order was just lifted today for the 2 million people served by the MWRA.
CRWA staff and volunteers have been monitoring the river, tracking the plume of fine sediment that is moving down the river. We are especially worried about river herring, which have begun their annual migration up into the Charles earlier than usual and have already been spotted entering the river to spawn. The river ecosystem has been extremely stressed during the past month, first by March's huge floods, then by the Department of Conservation and Recreation's rapid drawdown of the river to allow repairs to the Moody Street dam, and now by the flood of drinking water and sediments from this water pipe break. CRWA staff are doing our best to monitor the river, and will be working with government agencies and other organizations to undertake any necessary measures to protect the Charles.
Click here to view a WCVB-TV interview with CRWA's Kate Bowditch discussing impacts to the river of the water main break.
3) CRWA Annual Report
The 2009 CRWA Annual Report is now available! You can view a summary of our accomplishments, read about the core project work we completed this year, and view lists of donors and volunteers.
Click here to view a PDF copy; if you'd like a hard copy, please reply to this email and request one.
4)
Planting day at Everett St. Community Greenspace
Join CRWA, Allston-Brighton CDC, and friends and neighbors on Saturday, May 15 at the German International School at 57 Holton St. From 10:30am - 12:30pm we will be doing final planting & volunteer maintenance training; from 12:30 - 2:30pm there will be family gardening activities including tree planting lessons and make-your-own wildflower seed balls. Click here for a flier with more information.
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River Current is published twice monthly (or as needed) by the Charles River Watershed Association and
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