MyRWA is working to assemble a list of Supplemental Environmental Projects (SEPs) that may fulfill needs by corporations, institutions or community organizations required to or who wish to fund projects to restore environmental conditions in the Mystic River Watershed. These projects may serve as SEPs for State or Federal environmental regulations.
Help MyRWA Celebrate!
MyRWA’s turning 40! In anticipation of MyRWA’s 40th anniversary in 2012, MyRWA is planning a series of fun events to celebrate. Event planners, volunteer coordinators, local fans and activists are encouraged to get involved in the planning! We have much to undertake and many great ideas about how to celebrate 40 years of dedication to our local rivers. You can play an important role in the future of MyRWA and we hope you get involved today!
Contact Beth@MysticRiver.org or call Beth at 781-316-3438 for more information.
Additional Green Infrastructure Heads to Chelsea
MyRWA, Charles River Watershed Association, Chelsea Collaborative, Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) and the City of Chelsea hope to begin work soon to reduce stormwater pollution and improve environmental conditions through development of a Green Infrastructure Retrofit Plan in Chelsea. This project Urban Green Infrastructure in Mystic River Communities will study the existing conditions near the Broadway area of Chelsea and identify opportunities at the street level where green infrastructure can be used to treat stormwater.
Design for this Neighborhood Greening Plan will follow principles of proven Blue Cities™ models for making urban landscapes mimic the natural environment. Using this established approach, by capturing rainwater runoff through the introduction of plant life and open spaces, the plan will implement desirable neighborhood improvements while reducing flooding, restoring groundwater supplies, and decreasing polluted run-off into Chelsea Creek. One of the most exciting parts of this project will be the active collaboration between the neighborhood residents and businesses with the technical staff to create an urban space that builds on a shared vision to improve the livability of the neighborhood. The types of green infrastructure that will be considered include vegetated systems such as rain gardens, stormwater tree boxes and stormwater planters, and approaches such as porous concrete and subsurface storage and recharge for rainwater.
This project is part of the work undertaken by the Metro Boston Consortium for Sustainable Communities through MAPC and supported by a grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
Executive Director to Speak
On Thursday, November 10th MyRWA's Executive Director, EkOngKar Singh Khalsa, will speak at the Friends of Alewife Reservation's Annual Meeting.
Where: Tobin School, 197 Vassal Lane, Cambridge, MA
When: November 10th, 7pm
Speakers:
Mystic River Watershed - Executive Director - EKOngKar Singh Khalsa
City of Cambridge Storm Water Manager - Catherine Woodbury
Mystic Photo Contest Winners Announced
Best Overall photo by: George McLean.
MyRWA is pleased to announce that over 200 photos were submitted by 53 photographers during the 2011 Photo Contest! Contest categories included Plants, Wildlife, Landscape, Recreation & Appreciation and Best Overall. Thanks to all who submitted and congratulations to the winning photographers!
ExxonMobil Addresses Stormwater at Everett Terminal – Better Water Quality in Mystic and Island End Rivers Will Result
From the EPA Press Release, 10/14/2011:
The Island End and Mystic Rivers in Everett are flowing cleaner this fall as a result of a two-year effort by the U.S. EPA and the Massachusetts Dept. of Environmental Protection (MassDEP), working with ExxonMobil to significantly improve the stormwater management system at ExxonMobil’s Everett Terminal facility.
EPA and MassDEP have issued a modification to ExxonMobil’s stormwater discharge permit to the Island End River, a tributary to the Mystic River. The permit modification incorporates the substantial improvements that ExxonMobil has made to the stormwater management system at its Everett Terminal, working in accordance with a 2009 memorandum of understanding between EPA Region 1 and ExxonMobil, which was entered into as part of a settlement to resolve a permit appeal brought by the company before the U.S. Environmental Appeals Board in 2008. The facility upgrades greatly improve the capacity of the stormwater system to collect, store and treat large storm events and provide advanced treatment for residual contaminated groundwater that infiltrates into the stormwater collection system.
“Cleaning our urban waterways unlocks the potential for these special places as a valuable resource for all our citizens. It’s a high priority for EPA to help urban waters become revitalized assets for New England communities,” said Curt Spalding, regional administrator of EPA’s New England office. “This collaborative action brings measureable results to these local urban rivers and is an important part of EPA’s work in the Mystic River Watershed.”
MyRWA's Executive Director Featured On Radio Show
On October 5, 2011, EK Khalsa, Executive Director of the Mystic River Watershed Association, was featured on Moir's Environmental Dialogues. Listen to the show here!
EK Khalsa talks about the challenges of being a river hearing in the sea and in the river. He spoke on behalf of herring to the New England Fisheries Management Council and offers concrete actions one can take to save herring. The Fisheries Council is offering a short public comment period after years of research and deliberations. The Mystic River is alive with herring thanks to people turning out to lift fish over a dam and then the building of a successful fish ladder. Hardened shorelines and impervious watershed lands are a great problem that is being addressed from “depaving” neighborhood events to remediation of hazardous industrial corridors into green ways with natural filters and no toxins. With roughly 12 million herring lost every year to bycatch at sea, now is the time to speak up for herring – herring for our rivers, our tables, ecosystems both marine and fresh water.
Cambridge candidates to address "green" issues Wednesday
Cambridge City Council candidates' forum about "green" issues is set for Wednesday, Nov. 2, from 6:30 to 9 p.m. in the Cambridge Family YMCA Theatre, 820 Mass. Ave, Central Square.
Hear the candidates on energy and environmental issues, including U.S. climate policy and water quality of the Mystic River. Learn the candidates’ positions on green space, food, flooding and watershed protection.
The forum is organized by Green Cambridge.
Cosponsors are CCEAG, Cambridge Climate Emergency Action Group, TROMP, Friends of Alewife Reservation, HEET (Home Energy Efficiency Team), Mystic River Watershed Association, Cambridge Somerville for Change Climate and Energy Team and the Cambridge Chamber of Commerce.
Four Mystic Communities to Design Green BMPs for Stormwater Improvements
Woburn, Burlington, Reading and Winchester will collectively improve their efforts to reduce non-point source pollution in the Aberjona River watershed. The City of Woburn was awarded $49,860 through the 604(b) Water Quality Management Planning Grant by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection in June. Woburn will lead a regional effort to identify opportunities to place “green” stormwater structures, such as raingardens and vegetated swales, in the communities of Woburn, Burlington, Reading and Winchester.
Green Best Management Practices (BMPs) represent an approach to stormwater management that is based on Low Impact Design (LID) principles. Green BMPs feature small-scale facilities, distributed throughout the watershed, to slow down, cleanse, infiltrate, and reuse rainwater where it falls. Several local BMP installations, including the Lexington DPW facility, have demonstrated good performance, cost effectiveness, and broad community benefits.
The participating municipalities lie within the Aberjona River watershed, which is a subwatershed of the Mystic River Watershed. The Aberjona River watershed includes Horn Pond, Wedge Pond, and Winter Pond. Each of these water bodies have impaired water quality due, in part, to nutrients, bacteria and sediment carried by stormwater runoff from the surrounding urban landscape.
The project will draw on the expertise of a number of key partners. The Mystic River Watershed Association (MyRWA) will provide water quality data and assist with project management. A Tufts University team led by Professor Richard Vogel will perform Geographic Information System (GIS) analysis to identify optimal sites that yield the largest water quality improvement. Finally, Bioengineering Group, which has completed a number of high profile projects in the Alewife Brook sub-watershed and at the Lexington DPW, will develop conceptual designs for a BMP in each municipality. The proposed project ultimately aims to develop conceptual designs of four BMPs – one within each municipality – that will reduce pollutant loading from respective sites to water bodies in the Aberjona River watershed. While four BMPs will have a limited effect on the total pollutant load, this project will better equip the towns with the information, experience, and tools necessary to move forward with more widespread BMP implementation in the future.
Ripple Award of Recognition: Jack Markley
Photo Credit: David Fitcher
The 2011 Ripple Award was presented at MyRWA's Annual Meeting on Oct. 25th.
The Ripple Award highlights the work of an individual that while seemingly small or localized has far reaching impacts on the larger community - much like ripples that are sent out from throwing a rock in a pond. The 2011 Ripple Award honored Jack Markley, in memoriam, as a tireless advocate for Belle Isle Marsh and the local environment. Jack lived along Belle Isle Marsh and was passionately invested in its cleanup as well as sharing this valuable and beautiful resource with others. Jack was active in many environmental groups, including MyRWA and the Friends of Belle Isle Marsh. He truly served as a testament to one person making a difference. MyRWA is coordinating with other groups to develop a memorial at Belle Isle Marsh.
