The River Current

|| The River Current || November 23, 2004 || Issue XIII ||

The mostly monthly e-newsletter of the Charles River Watershed Association

...bringing our backyard river to your door...

Giving Thanks

Here at the Charles River Watershed Association, we have much for which to

be thankful. A very difficult year financially has finally given way to

hope on the horizon. It was with your support that CRWA survived, and we

all want to say thanks. Our communities, our river, our watershed, will be

better for it. So thank you, and may you have a happy and peace-filled

Thanksgiving holiday!

At our recent annual meeting, we got to say thank you to eight exceptional

individuals, whose work in the watershed benefits us all. The recipients of

the awards were singled out for their individual efforts to improve the

quality of water and surrounding parklands in the river's watershed, so that

residents and visitors can continue to enjoy the beauty of the Charles.

CRWA's highest honor, the Anne M. Blackburn Award, was presented to Dan

Driscoll, a Watertown, MA resident, and Senior Planner at the Massachusetts

Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR), for being the driving force

behind the planning and management of the creation of the Upper Charles

Reservation from Newton to the Museum of Science in Boston. CRWA's tribute

to Mr. Driscoll was in honor of the expected completion of the paths by

Earth Day 2005.

"The construction of these paths is the most significant thing that has been

done for the Charles in the last 80 years," CRWA Executive Director Bob

Zimmerman said. "With the park, the river becomes an extension of residents

' backyards. It fundamentally changes people's relationship with the river

in our urban environment. Suddenly, people start to care about the future

of the river." The finished path will connect Norumbega Park in Newton near

Route 128 to the Museum of Science in Boston, bringing the total mileage of

continuous pathway to 14 miles.

Kennie Lyman and Nancy Hammett, of Cambridge and Watertown, MA,

respectively, received the 2004 Volunteer Award. Both women have worked as

volunteer coordinators of CRWA's water quality monitoring program for

several years, tirelessly transporting water samples and organizing

volunteers to make sure the thirty-eight site program runs smoothly each

month.

CRWA's Public Official Award went to Vicki Gartland, a resident of Newton,

MA, who served as the state's hydrologist in the Office of Water Resources

within the Department of Conservation and Recreation for 17 years. While

working for DCR, she became one of the driving forces for streamflow

protection in the state. She was recognized for her unique ability to

develop scientific research and then to translate it into effective policy.

Two individuals received special recognition from CRWA this year. The first

was Tom Aicardi of Triumvirate Environmental, Inc. and a North Easton

resident. Under Mr. Aicardi's leadership, Triumvirate has participated in

the Charles River Earth Day Cleanup, CRWA's annual riverbank cleanup event;

and CRWA's Flagging Program, a public alert system that indicates the river'

s safety for boaters in the lower basin. The second individual to receive

special recognition was Michael Clifford, who is principal at DGT Survey

Engineering Group in Boston. Mr. Clifford, of Sharon, MA, spearheaded a

survey at the Bleachery Dam, which provided CRWA with a wealth of

sophisticated data from the site. CRWA could not have completed the project

without the generous support provided by Mr. Clifford and his firm.

Eric Hall, formerly of the United States Environmental Protection Agency

(EPA), also received a Public Official Award, for three decades of work done

to protect water quality. Because of his efforts, state water quality

standards better reflect the goals of the Clean Water Act, permits are more

effective, and enforcement is more efficient particularly in the area of

combined sewer overflows. Mr. Hall lives in Dorchester, MA.

Bill Walsh-Rogalski, EPA's Counsel for Special Projects, received CRWA's

2005 Award for his work towards achieving the goal that EPA launched in 1995

to restore the Charles River's water quality so that it is fishable and

swimmable by Earth Day 2005. Mr. Walsh-Rogalski, of Marblehead, MA, has kept

the ambitious initiative on track, applying his legal, technical and policy

skills in tackling water quality issues.

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Look for CRWA's monthly column in the Newton Tab, a free weekly newspaper

published by Community Newspaper Company. The column appears on first

Wednesday of the month.

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