Hearing Focuses on Town's, Agency's Efforts to Reduce Pollution in the Charles River 

February 15, 2005

Environmental advocates find that pollution from stormwater continues to threaten the Charles River 
 
Waltham – Environmental advocates have found that despite efforts by federal and state agencies to enforce elimination programs, stormwater discharged into the Charles River remains the single largest pollutant of the state’s historic waterway.  In an analysis of the stormwater management plans for nine towns in the Lower Basin of the Charles River, Charles River Watershed Association (CRWA) and Conservation Law Foundation (CLF)  determined that improvements have been made in reducing pollution but stormwater still causes the Charles to violate state water quality standards for fishing and swimming.  The stormwater plan for the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR), which manages a significant number of parks in the Charles River watershed, including the 17-mile long Charles River Reservation, and approximately 600 lane miles of parkways, was found to be especially inadequate at preventing polluted stormwater from entering the Charles. 

Advocates from the Charles River Watershed Association (CRWA) and the Conservation Law Foundation (CLF), along with concerned citizens of nine towns in the Lower Basin of the Charles River, attended a public hearing today in Boston to voice concerns regarding stormwater management permits that are presently being reviewed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). 

The permits, mandate that the nine towns – Weston, Wellesley, Dedham, Needham, Newton, Waltham, Watertown, Brookline and Cambridge – and DCR follow basic practices to ensure that stormwater discharges do not violate the Clean Water Act.

 “Effective stormwater management plans are critical to protecting the Charles from the detrimental effects of polluted stormwater,” said Kate Bowditch, a CRWA senior environmental scientist.  “We’ve seen a lot of improvement over the years, but testing of storm drain water shows that there are still serious problems in some towns.”  Towns are legally responsible for ensuring that their stormwater discharges do not negatively affect water quality.

Persistent problems with Combined Sewer Overflows (CSOs, which are designated pipes along the river that discharge a mixture of sanitary sewage and stormwater from old systems where the two are combined), contaminated sediments that get stirred up in heavy rain, and polluted stormwater still cause the river to exceed safe water quality levels 10 – 20% of the days in an average year.

"The problem of stormwater pollution in the Charles River requires a synergetic solution," said Carol Lee Rawn, a Conservation Law Foundation staff attorney. " Some towns have excelled in certain areas, which could be used as models for other towns.  We urge these nine towns and DCR to work together to develop a coherent plan for protecting the lower Charles.”

###

One of our country’s first watershed organizations, CRWA formed in 1965 in response to public concern about the declining condition of the Charles River.  Since its earliest days of advocacy, CRWA has figured prominently in major clean-up and watershed protection efforts that have dramatically improved the health of the Charles.

The Conservation Law Foundation works to solve the environmental problems that threaten the people, natural resources and communities of New England. CLF's advocates use law, economics and science to design and implement strategies that conserve natural resources, protect public health, and promote vital communities in our region. Founded in 1966, CLF is a nonprofit, member-supported organization.

 

 

Back to Index