U.S. Water News Online
BOSTON -- As the nation's largest harbor cleanup effort,
the $3.5
billion Boston Harbor Project has been considered a maritime cause
directed
toward removing sewage overloads and making the harbor fishable and
swimmable
once again. On the project's fifth birthday, the overall focus is
being
directed inland toward the eight watersheds that drain into Boston
Harbor.
Over the past five years, notes the Massachusetts Water Resources
Authority
(MWRA) in its latest annual State of the Boston Harbor report,
the success
of the cleanup project has been gauged by the environmental health of
Boston
Harbor. But in the coming years, the report states, "a
watershed-based
approach towards protecting and maintaining Boston Harbor will
prove
essential in developing both the harbor and its adjoining watersheds
for the
benefit of all communities."
The watershed approach to pollution control is considered a key to
restoring
marine life, recreational uses, and the overall health of the harbor,
the
report says. The watersheds that drain into Boston Harbor include
Winthrop
Bay, Inner Harbor, Quincy Bay, along with the Mystic, Charles,
Neponset,
Weymouth Fore, Back, and Weir rivers.
Much of the pollution entering Boston Harbor is carried by water
originating
from these watersheds rather than just the two existing sewage
treatment
plants that have been the focus of the cleanup project thus far,
noted
Douglas MacDonald, executive director of the MWRA. "As we continue to
work on
the Boston Harbor Project, a watershed perspective reminds agencies
and
citizens alike that the health of Boston Harbor also depends on
preventing
pollution in other water resources," said MacDonald.
In order to address pollution that is emanating from the
watershed, MWRA and
other agencies involved in the harbor project are drafting a plan to
control
combined sewer overflows, commonly known as CSOs. In addition,
sewer
interceptor construction and replacement projects will be undertaken,
as well
as pollution prevention programs by industries, municipalities,
and
businesses. The Infiltration/Inflow Assistance program by MWRA
provides over
$20 million to communities for projects to reduce stormwater and
groundwater
flow into the sewage collection and treatment system.
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