MISSION AND ACHIEVEMENTS
MyRWA was founded in 1972 and has largely functioned as a volunteer-run organization, mobilizing activists on a project-by-project basis.
The Mystic River Watershed Association's mission is to protect and restore the Mystic River, its tributaries and watershed lands for the benefit of present and future generations and to celebrate the value, importance and great beauty of these natural resources.
MyRWA's Organizational Achievements Include:
2000 - 2009
- Collaborated with the Massachusetts Area Planning Council (MAPC) to develop an interactive Mystic River Environmental Atlas. (2009)
- Received funding from the Massachusetts Environmental Trust (MET) to develop an Urban Trail Map and Guide. (2009)
- Launched a program to address Sanitary Sewer Overflows, or SSO's. (2009)
- Expanded our staff to include an Outreach Coordinator. (2009)
- Performed water quality workshops to over 30 youth in Chelsea and East Boston. (2009)
- Expanded MyRWA's communications and reach through social media, a new website, and a monthly electronic newsletter. (2009)
- Presented the results of shoreline surveys and water quality monitoring to conservation commissions throughout the watershed. (2005-2008)
- Hosted a conference on stormwater Best Management Practices entitled “Mystic Stormwater 2008: A BMP Primer for Municipal Officials”. (2008)
- Assisted the EPA in planning and presenting for their Mystic River Summit and developed a webpage to host background materials for conference participants. (2008)
- Added three additional sites in the Lower Mystic to our monthly Baseline Monitoring program in order to track trends in water quality in the Island End River, Chelsea River, and Mill Creek. (2008)
- Conducted a survey of Chlorophyll a in 27 lakes and streams to assess the extent of algae blooms in the watershed. (2007)
- Assisted the Division of Marine Fisheries to conduct a survey of river herring habitat quality in Upper Mystic Lake. (2007 & 2008)
- Conducted a study of bacteria in beach sand at Sandy Beach and Constitution Beach and found that sand can harbor alarming amounts of fecal indicator bacteria. (2007)
- Developed a summer internship program with Tufts faculty members that places upper division undergraduate and graduate student interns with organizations and municipalities working on watershed-related issues. (2000-2002)
- We were twice designated a partner under the National Park Service Rivers and Trails program to focus on expanding greenway connections and improving watershed awareness. (2000 and 2001)
- We were awarded an EPA Urban Environmental Initiative grant to study and create guidelines for protecting open space in the Mystic River watershed. (2000)
- Produced two large-scale ground murals depicting the watershed's major tributaries and public open space. Locations include the MDC parking lot between the Mystic Lakes in Medford, and Dever Park in Chelsea. (2001)
- The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Management awarded MyRWA a grant to create two watershed ground maps and a Blueways and Greenways brochure, highlighting trail and canoe access. (2001)
- With the City of Somerville and Tufts University, we were awarded an EPA EMPACT grant to implement real-time water quality monitoring at strategic public-use locations, develop a predictive model of bacterial contamination, and make this information readily available to the public via a website. (2002)
- MyRWA has provided comments on a number of planned projects and permits with the goal of preserving water quality and protecting open space. (Ongoing)
- MyRWA merged with the Mystic River Watershed Coalition, a coalition of groups that had been created to address the needs of the many small, more localized citizens' groups active throughout the watershed. The result of the merger is a stronger organization that can better represent and advocate on behalf of community needs. (1999-2000)
1990 - 1999
- Created and are continuing to expand an annual springtime "Super Clean-Up" throughout the watershed, involving dozens of sponsoring groups and hundreds of volunteers. (1999-ongoing)
- Published An Alewife Area Ecology Guide, a guide to the natural history and publicly accessible open space in the Alewife Brook subwatershed, linking the cities of Arlington, Belmont, and Cambridge. (1994)
1980 - 1989
- Participated in a comprehensive joint research study of urban runoff with the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), the Upper Mystic Lake Watershed Urban Runoff Project. We urged for the cleanup of hazardous waste in Woburn and advocated for the protection of wetlands near the Alewife MBTA station. We also successfully brought attention to and oversaw the State's removal of a large deposit of hydrogen sulfide in Lower Mystic Lake in the center of the watershed. (1980s)
1970 - 1979
- Engaged thousands of local residents in traditional watershed association activities such as clean-ups, canoe trips, walks and lectures. (1972- ongoing)