Water Authority Proposes Dumping Sewage in Charles River Forever (Press Release)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 31, 2025

BOSTON, MA – The Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) on Wednesday proposed a plan that would allow for sewage to continue to be dumped into the Charles River forever.

During a meeting with its Board of Directors, MWRA officials presented multiple options for addressing combined sewer overflows (CSOs) in the Charles, and recommended adopting the option leading to the least amount of sewage reduction. 

“To say that we were shocked, disappointed, dismayed at the recommendations from the MWRA executive team does not begin to capture it,” said CRWA Executive Director Emily Norton. “We feel betrayed.”

CSOs are a key source of pathogen and bacteria contamination to the Charles and are becoming more frequent as our climate changes. In these outdated sewer systems, stormwater and household/industrial wastewater are collected in the same pipes to be conveyed to a wastewater treatment plant, but during heavy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.

“An estimated million people a year are on the Charles River, and millions more live in greater Boston and have a great love for the river,” said Julie Wood, CRWA Climate Resilience Director. “They do not want to get sick from sewage being released into the Charles, they want to enjoy our beloved river.” 

MWRA and the cities of Cambridge and Somerville are legally required to carry out an extensive CSO planning effort to address 9 of the 10 remaining CSO outfalls on the Charles, and must submit a preferred project option by the end of 2025. 

MWRA’s proposal shown Wednesday would recommend the state downgrade the legal classification of the Charles River. Massachusetts water quality standards classify the mainstem of the Charles as a “Class B” water body, which does not allow any CSOs. MWRA is only allowed to dump sewage into the river today because of a variance it has received from MassDEP and U.S. EPA, which is intended to be a time-limited, interim measure while MWRA makes progress toward CSO elimination. 

MWRA’s plan would require the state to change the Charles to a “Class B(CSO)” water body, allowing it to dump sewage into the river forever, and no longer work towards CSO elimination as it currently is required to do.

MWRA’s proposal came following numerous public hearings, where residents and watershed organizations pleaded with MWRA and the cities of Cambridge and Somerville to fully eliminate sewage overflows in the Charles. It also follows the passage of a resolution from the Cambridge City Council directing their City staff to seek out ways to fully eliminate CSOs.

“On this path, we’ll be back at hundreds of millions of gallons of sewage flowing into the Charles each year,” Norton said. “In spite of all the work that has been done over the decades to improve the ecological health of this river, this plan shows MWRA has no idea of its value.”

In addition, MWRA’s proposal is at odds with the Healey Administration’s stated goals for water quality. In August, the Healey Administration released a Biodiversity Plan, which has a goal under the category of “Dramatically Reduce Water Pollution”: Significantly reduce or eliminate combined-sewer overflows (CSOs), sanitary sewer overflows (SSOs), stormwater runoff, and septic pollution through sewer separation, treatment plant upgrades, sewer expansion, aquatic habitat buffers, and green infrastructure to protect biodiversity, shellfish beds, and public health. Increase investment and technical assistance for curbing stormwater pollution to ensure waters are swimmable and fishable. 

In April, CRWA launched its Cut The Crap campaign to create public awareness around CSOs and generate pressure on the MWRA and the Cities of Cambridge and Somerville to stop sewage 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. In the six months since the campaign began, over 1,200 people have signed the petition and nearly 2,000 messages have been sent to officials.

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