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Monthly e-news made for advocates.
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Federal Funding for Climate Resilience in Waltham |
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The plan includes the construction of a rain garden, bioswale, and infiltration chamber to capture and treat stormwater runoff before it enters the Charles River. These “nature-based solutions” have enormous potential to improve water quality, filter out pollutants like oil, trash, bacteria, excess nutrients, and more, reduce flooding, and improve the area for humans and wildlife alike.
CRWA worked with Waltham officials including Mayor Jeanette McCarthy several years ago to create the project designs, but this critical federal funding makes our vision a reality. We hope this project can serve as an example for other urban areas to emulate to create a more resilient watershed for future generations.
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Monitoring Water Quality to Protect Public Health |
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Each year, our River Science Program analyzes the data we collect to monitor water quality and protect public health. As climate change impacts our watershed, we utilize our robust dataset to inform the public and advocate for solutions to build resilience for our watershed and all who call it home.
Thank you to the Bilezikian Family Foundation for supporting our robust water quality sampling programs.
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From May to October alone, our watershed saw:
- thirty-five inches of precipitation
- twenty-four days of extreme heat
- several significant localized flooding events
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This had immediate impacts:
- 126 million gallons of sewage and stormwater released by CSOs
- 95% of phosphorus samples above the action limit
- Persistent high E. coli levels
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Thank you to the Boston Globe for publishing our op-ed, The Cleanup of Boston Harbor Incomplete written in collaboration with Mystic River Watershed Association to call for MWRA to put an end to sewage discharges in our rivers once and for all. Although considerable progress has been made, MWRA is not on target to meet current reduction requirements, and Massachusetts rivers deserve better. "An incomplete cleanup of Boston Harbor, with potentially hundreds of millions of gallons of sewage flowing into the Charles and Mystic rivers and ultimately into Boston Harbor every year, as climate change only fuels the problem, is unacceptable.”
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We are continuing to support our watershed communities’ efforts to reduce damaging nutrient pollution with the Phosphorus Control Planning Support workshop series! With funding from MassDEP and experts from Brown & Caldwell, we are connecting communities with the resources they need to meet reduction requirements and compiling information on local green infrastructure construction costs to improve communities’ ability to fund and implement solutions.
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CRWA joined Conservation Law Foundation, GreenRoots, Mystic River Watershed Association, The Harborkeepers, and Charles River Conservancy in sending a letter to Boston Mayor Michelle Wu highlighting the importance of robust implementation of Boston’s local wetlands ordinance. When passed in 2019, the ordinance was considered groundbreaking due to its focus on climate resilience, climate equity, and environmental justice, but strong regulations are urgently needed to give these provisions their full intended effect.
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Green Infrastructure for Milford! On March 29th the Town of Milford awarded the bid for the construction of two rain gardens in Milford Town Park. Project construction is scheduled to start in mid-April and be completed by the end of June. With Spring on the way, CRWA is working on more outreach to the community and will be planning several site tours once these systems are in the ground.
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CRWA submitted a letter in support of the Friends of Malcolm X Park’s call for the City of Boston to reconsider its plan to cut down 54 mature trees at the park in order to create a wheelchair-accessible path. We support improved accessibility but agree with community members that the City needs to engage with local residents, especially the Environmental Justice populations living near the park, to find equitable solutions that preserve the community benefits of large, mature trees.
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CRWA weighed in with the Arlington Select Board to support reducing the use of toxic rodenticides. These pesticides make their way through the food chain and harm ecosystems, with particularly devastating effects on bald eagles and other raptors.
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Thank you to all who attended our 2021 Annual Meeting to celebrate our continued commitment to clean, healthy Charles River for all!
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Protecting the state's protected lands - CommonWealth...
WE OFTEN THINK of floods, hurricanes, snowstorms and the like as threats to our normal way of life, but the Covid pandemic has shown us a unique threat that affects everyone in a very different way - isolation and inability to gather together....
Read more
commonwealthmagazine.org
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The Public Lands Preservation Act ensures the preservation in perpetuity of our vital open spaces which provide climate & community resilience.
"We often think of floods, hurricanes, snowstorms and the like as threats to our normal way of life, but the Covid pandemic has shown us a unique threat that affects everyone in a very different way — isolation and inability to gather together. What brought many of us through the last few years was the availability of nearby open spaces for outdoor passive recreation. As much as we need to plan for 100-year floods, we also need to plan for 100-year pandemics. Enter the Public Lands Preservation Act."
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Farewell to Audrey & Iris! |
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We bid farewell to our incredible Development Director Audrey Wallace. When Audrey joined CRWA three years ago, little did she know that she would be helping us weather a global pandemic, with all in-person fundraising activities curtailed for two years. During her time, Audrey ensured that CRWA not only survived but thrived, and she leaves us in the best financial shape we have ever been in. We will miss her positive attitude, can-do spirit, and adorable black labs Sophie and Barley. We are so grateful for all Audrey has done and wish her the best of luck in her new adventures.
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We bid farewell to our 2021-2022 Rita Barron Fellow, Iris Seto. Since joining CRWA last March, Iris has been a valued member of our science team, leading the Volunteer Monthly Monitoring and Biological Monitoring programs, and providing critical technical support for the Charles River Flood Model project. We will miss Iris’ GIS expertise, go-with-the-flow attitude, raw sarcasm, and her dog Artemis. We wish her luck in her next endeavor scuba diving along the Massachusetts coast as an eelgrass technician with the Division of Marine Fisheries.
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We are excited to highlight Thermo Fisher Scientific as a Cleanup Sponsor for their strong commitment to a clean Charles River. Thermo Fisher has a vested interest in working with volunteering with local organizations and participating in the community. Located in Cambridge, it was an obvious choice for Thermo Fisher to volunteer on Earth Day with a group whose primary focus is on the restoration and preservation of the Charles River.
We spoke with Isabel L. Johnson, a team leader at Thermo Fisher who will be volunteering with us for the first time. Here’s what Isabel said:
“I have always been passionate about Earth Day. I am beyond excited to not only personally celebrate, but to be able to provide that opportunity with my company, Thermo Fisher. It is events like the Charles River Earth Day Cleanup that give individuals the opportunity to contribute to the long-term preservation of the Charles River. It gives me great pleasure knowing that my volunteer efforts are making a lasting impact in the local environment.”
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Spring is here- and that means things are heating up again across the watershed! We have a whole host of exciting events coming up in April, and we hope you join us!
Charles River Watershed Association will be presenting virtually to Wayland’s Congregation Or Atid in a two-part program on rivers and climate change. Join us for the first session, “Rivers of Change” for a discussion of how healthy waterways ease climate disruption and build resilience into our landscape.
Love Your Local Lake: Wrentham Mirror Lake Workshop | In-Person Event | Saturday, April 9th, 10 AM | Mirror Lake
Come learn about ways to protect and restore your local lake! Charles River Watershed Association (CRWA) will lead you through a discussion of water quality, climate change, and green stormwater infrastructure solutions in Wrentham. You’ll learn about what you as a homeowner can do to help protect local water resources, and get a tour of a property to see what is possible! All are welcome!
Join us to celebrate the completion of the 2021 Annual Water Quality Report! Each year, we analyze the data to measure water quality trends and report on the health of the Charles River. In this exciting event, River Science Program Manager Lisa Kumpf will present our findings and discuss their ecosystem and recreation impacts in the face of our changing climate with Cam Salvatore of the Charles River Navigation Project.
Join CRWA Climate Resilience Specialist Robert Kearns for Sierra Club’s Advocacy Hour to learn about our efforts to remove aging, functionless dams in the Charles River. CRWA is advocating for the removal of Watertown Dam and South Natick Dam to restore migratory fish passage, improve ecosystem health and build climate resilience. Kearns will talk about ways to get involved and advocate for the dam removal.
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We now accept cryptocurrency! If you don’t know what that is, you’re in good company, but for those who have it, please know we can accept it as donations to CRWA via every.org, including Bitcoin, USD Coin, and Ethereum. Learn more about how to give the gift of Crypto.
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If you would like to unsubscribe to a specific email list, please email charles@crwa.org. If you click on Unsubscribe below, you will unsubscribe from all CRWA emails moving forward.
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