A Cleaner Charles River Celebrated by Hundreds

November 20, 2008 - Weston, MA – Charles River Watershed Association, a nonprofit that protects and restores the Charles River, held its Annual Meeting and Awards Dinner Wednesday evening at the Newton Marriott Hotel.  More than 150 river enthusiasts, community advocates, and government officials from throughout the watershed joined together to celebrate CRWA’s accomplishments and honor those who have helped improve the state of the river.

As CRWA’s 43rd year draws to a close, our science and advocacy work has seen many successes: the introduction of five million native fish to the river, dramatic improvements in water quality, the completion of studies to identify sources of phosphorus pollution, and restoration of riverside parklands. Throughout the past three years, CRWA has proven itself a leader in making urban redevelopment more water sensitive - our urban restoration team is currently working in Dorchester, Allston/Brighton, Blackstone and Waltham transforming city streets into environmentally-friendly, water-friendly spaces. 

CRWA Executive Director Bob Zimmerman welcomed everyone to the event, and six awards were then presented to recognize those who have made extraordinary contributions to restoring and protecting the Charles River. A Special Recognition Award was presented to Jim Healy and Boston Duck Tours; CRWA water sampling volunteer and Corporate Wetlands Restoration Partnership manager Susan Redlich of Cambridge was given the Volunteer Award; Larry Smith, a Newton resident, was presented with the Citizen Activist Award for his efforts to promote recreation on the river; and Holliston’s John Thomas, President of Beals & Thomas, Inc., was presented with the Clean Charles award.

CRWA’s two premier awards were given this year to government officials who have made great strides in cleaning up the Charles: CRWA’s Rita Barron Award for Public Service was presented to Representative Frank Smizik, a long-time supporter of efforts to restore the Muddy River (a main tributary to the Charles) and a key player in this year’s legislative session which was saw the passage of many key environmental bills; and CRWA’s Anne M. Blackburn Award was presented to Robert Varney, Regional Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, for his many years of protecting water in New England, including the recently announced regulations to control stormwater runoff from privately owned land.

The evening’s featured speaker was Dr. Sarah Slaughter, coordinator of the MIT Sloan School of Management Sustainability Business Laboratory and the Sloan Sustainability Initiative, who presented on Designing Sustainable and Resilient Communities. Using examples from Namibia and Saudi Arabia, her talk gave insight into how engineering innovations can change the way cities conserve water as well as inspire new ideas for recycling and reuse of water resources. Many cities already face dwindling water supplies, severe flooding, and unstable water tables. In light of these growing risks, Dr. Slaughter's international perspective reinforced the leadership that CRWA has taken in promoting new technologies that revive urban centers with better water resource management.