CRWA Hangs ‘Cut The Crap’ Banner Over I-90 To Protest CSOs In Charles River (Press Release)
‘Cut The Crap’ campaign calls on MWRA, Cambridge, Somerville to end CSOs.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 22, 2025
Contact: Stefan Geller, Senior Communications Manager
Email: sgeller@crwa.org
BOSTON, MA – Members of the Charles River Watershed Association (CRWA) donned poop emoji costumes and hung a banner reading “Cut The Crap” over Interstate 90 today, kicking off the organization’s campaign to help end combined sewer overflows (CSOs) in the Charles River.
CRWA’s Cut The Crap campaign aims to create public awareness around CSOs and generate pressure on the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) and the Cities of Cambridge and Somerville to stop these sewer overflows from polluting the Charles.
The campaign website – CutTheCrapCharles.org – links to a digital petition demanding the full elimination of CSOs in the Charles, as well as pre-written messages supporters can send to MWRA, Cambridge and Somerville officials.
“When people hear we are still dumping sewage into the Charles, they are shocked and disgusted. Our problem is not enough people are aware,” said CRWA Executive Director Emily Norton. “It is our hope that this action will help bring that awareness and inspire people to join our campaign to “cut the crap” in the Charles!”
CSOs are a key source of contamination to the Charles and are becoming more frequent as our climate changes. In these outdated systems, stormwater and household/industrial wastewater are collected in the same pipes to be conveyed to a wastewater treatment plant, but during heavy rainstorms, the combined system cannot handle the excess polluted water and releases it into the river.
MWRA, Cambridge, and Somerville are required to carry out an extensive updated CSO planning effort to address the ongoing challenge of raw and partially treated sewage being dumped into the Charles River during heavy rain.
In August, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) issued a water quality standards Variance allowing MWRA, Cambridge and Somerville to continue discharging CSOs into the Charles River, Mystic River and Alewife Brook, delaying long overdue water quality improvements.
For more information, please visit CutTheCrapCharles.org.
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Charles River Watershed Association’s mission is to protect, restore and enhance the Charles River and its watershed through science, advocacy, and the law. CRWA develops science-based strategies to increase resilience, protect public health, and promote environmental equity as we confront a changing climate.
