contact your legislator

Learn more about legislation we want to see in the State House

community climate funding

MyRWA is working with over a dozen regional watershed, economic development, and planning organizations across Massachusetts to increase the funding for the Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) grant program to $100 million each year. We saw early success in the newly proposed bond bill to increase this funding. You can read more here or visit the MVP Coalition website to get involved.

rodenticide ban

One of the Mystic’s most beloved bald eagles, MK, died in March 2023 after eating an animal poisoned with rodenticide that prevents blood from clotting. “Second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides” (SGARs) are a leading cause of death for predators and scavengers of all sizes. Check out Save Arlington Wildlife for who to contact to encourage legislation to address this dangerous poison.

Drought Bill

Our state laws do not yet recognize that droughts need to be managed at the watershed level. Instead, individual cities and towns decide when and whether to require water conservation measures. As climate change makes droughts more frequent and severe, we need to be able to strengthen and coordinate our efforts to prevent both our rivers and our communities from running out of water. Check out Mass Rivers Alliance to see what you can do to encourage action at the State House.

Combined Sewer Overflows

Around Greater Boston, our centuries-old stormwater systems release untreated sewage into the river and ocean when rainstorms get too intense, and climate change is making rainstorms consistently more intense (but less frequent — see Drought Bill). A bill introduced by Mystic River watershed Representative Dave Roberts and sponsored by many of our legislators would require that communities prevent frequent “Combined Sewer Overflow” releases (up to a rare storm expected to only take place every 25 years) by 2035. For more on CSOs, visit our CSO info page and ask your legislator to help by cosponsoring H. 1046.

nature for all

Massachusetts is facing the triple-threat from climate change, the loss of biodiversity, and the fact that the benefits of nature are not accessible to all of our residents. Massachusetts lacks a significant statewide funding mechanism for nature conservation and urban green spaces, and existing state-level programs are underfunded and can’t meet demand. As a result, Massachusetts lacks sustainable and reliable resources to meet MyRWA’s goals of improving parks and paths in our urban watershed and the Commonwealth’s goals of 1) protecting, managing, and restoring nature in order to reach net zero by 2050 and 2) protecting 30% of the state by 2030 and 40% by 2050. Check out the Nature for Massachusetts organization to contact your legislators.

Better Bottle Bill & Plastic REductions

Plastic pollution in the ocean from urban landscapes comes in large part from rivers. Over 40% of our watershed’s land area is made up of impervious surfaces like streets, sidewalks, and parking lots. When it rains, trash is flushed or blown from these surfaces into our rivers and streams. Plastic bags, water bottles, straws, food packaging, and disposable dishware are all designed for one-time use, making them convenient. However, when discarded in the environment, single-use plastics break down into smaller particles known as microplastics. Microplastics attract other pollutants in water and concentrate harmful chemicals in food webs in the ocean. The Better Bottle Bill would help expand recycling on plastic bottles. Check out Just Zero to see progress on this bill. Additionally, MyRWA encouraged the legislation to include S.2541, intended to reduce all plastics to the upcoming Bond Bill.

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