Despite a common reputation for its filth, forged from rock songs and warnings imparted for decades, multiple organizations have made efforts to make the Charles River swimmable, but that could all be coming to an end soon. A recent proposal by the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) would allow an increase in sewage flowing into the river by declassifying it as “safe to swim,” a classification the river has maintained since 2013. Boston, like most older cities, has a water system that uses combined pipes for storm drainage and wastewater that is transported to the MWRA for treatment and separation. However, heavy rainfall or snowmelt can cause these pipes to reach capacity, leading to combined sewer overflows (CSOs) that drain into local bodies of water. To remedy the issue, the MWRA has spent $906 million to create dual pipe systems that separate rainwater and wastewater. Despite this, there are still 9 active CSO sites along the 80-mile-long Charles that pumped over 47 million gallons of sewage into the river in 2024. Each heavy storm that reaches Boston can make the river unsafe for 48 hours. Rather than eliminating the remaining CSOs, a new proposal was floated in a board meeting by the MWRA on Oct. 29; allow continuous overflow of sewage water and reduce the river’s water quality rating. The proposal was suggested due to the cost of removing pipes, many of which would require major construction work. The MWRA has already spent $906 million on CSOs along the Charles River, and they serve 61 metropolitan Boston cities and towns, according to their website-though many of these towns also face the negative consequences of CSOs. The MWRA has to allocate the money that it receives from funds from the member communities it serves. In a statement to The Beacon, the MWRA said that the funds they have invested in the Charles have reduced CSO volumes by nearly 90% already, but they will continue their progress towards eliminating them entirely. “MWRA has continued to work collaboratively with the Cities of Cambridge and Somerville to update the CSO long term control plan to further reduce overflow volumes in the future,” read the statement. “This public process has sought the input of various stakeholders and residents.” Alternative options included in the proposal entailed nature-based solutions that would direct stormwater into the ground, as well as storage facilities that would hold water until the combined pipes are no longer at capacity. The proposal has faced vast amounts of public outcry concerning the reclassification, and was tabled at a Nov. 14 board meeting. It will be considered at a future board meeting and would not be finalized until 2027 if approved. MWRA’s statement said that they decided to table the proposal in order to “address questions and comments” that they have received from the public. Laura Jasinski, the executive director for the Charles River Conservancy, said the proposal was alarming and disappointing after so much effort had gone into improving the health of the river. “There’s been so much progress over decades, and lots of energy, financial resources, public interest,” Jasinski said. “I was just really shocked that this is an option that was being seriously considered.” The attempts to improve the Charles began with an Environmental Protection Agency initiative in 1975 to make the river swimmable and fishable by 2005. Now, twenty years later, such activities are a rare occasion, usually accompanied by special permits and targeted cleanup. Organizations like Charles River Watershed Association and the Charles River Conservancy host annual events where people can jump in and enjoy the river. But, Jasinski said, there is still progress to be made. “We’d love for the Charles to be a resource for people to cool down, but it’s not quite there,” she said. “It’s really about the kind of access where we want this river to be fully usable by everybody.” Since 1975, the Charles has improved from a “class D” river to a “class B” river, meaning it has eliminated untreated sewage and storm water, and is safe for swimming 70% of the time, according to the EPA’s Charles River Initiative. CSO levels have gone down 88%, per the MWRA statement. “As a result [of the MWRA’s initiatives] there has been a revitalization of waterfront neighborhoods and new recreational opportunities near vastly cleaner natural resources,” said the MWRA’s statement. “Wildlife has returned to Boston Harbor, and urban beaches are considered amongst the cleanest in the country.” However, the MWRA has received a variance, a temporary site-specific exemption to an environmental standard, from the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) and the EPA, which allows them to dump 13 million gallons of wastewater from CSOs per year. This is a limited-time measure used while a plan is developed and infrastructure is built to keep the river clean. The proposal made in October by the MWRA would involve classifying the Charles as a “class B (CSO),” which would allow for the long-term release of sewage into the river, approximately 30 million gallons a year. To Jasinski, this feels like giving up. “I think the main thing is that we don’t want to move the goalpost on what success looks like,” she said. “So it’s important that we keep going and have this really be a success story, as opposed to saying it’s getting too hard, so we’re going to stop.” Throughout the years, advocacy groups have improved biodiversity, restored the shoreline, and established volunteer networks. When the weather permits, people enjoy kayaking, rowing, or sailing in the river. Other activities include the iconic Boston duck boat tours that end in the water. Jasinski says that the negative ramifications of continuous sewage overflow would only be exacerbated by the effects of climate change, which will cause an increase in the frequency and intensity of storms in Massachusetts, as elsewhere. She said that this will only result in more pollution and that the “water quality is only going to degrade over time.” Despite costs, Jasinski said that the money saved by not addressing CSOs in the Charles will manifest themselves in health risks caused by runoff, a consequence that she calls “a missed opportunity for a return on investment” by the city. To meet the stipulations of the variance, the MWRA, Cambridge and Somerville will have to submit a draft Updated CSO Control Plan to the MassDEP and the EPA by Dec. 31, 2025. Plans will include the evaluation of CSO control plans up to and including full elimination. MWRA’s proposal is one that Jasinski says could reverse years of advocacy, restoration, and clean-up. “This is a major kind of backtracking from the goals of the MWRA, and it took so many advocates so long to reach a fully swimmable Charles,” she said. “People shouldn’t be exposed to raw sewage in their public water bodies.”.
https://berkeleybeacon.com/new-proposal-would-allow-sewage-to-be-dumped-in-the-charles-river/
