HOW CLEAN IS ? Boston Harbor BOSTON HARBOR BACTERIA: THE Before Improvements LIGHTER THE BLUE, THE BETTER Mystic Chelsea 1989-1991 River Creek MWRA measures Enterococcus, a bacteria associated with human and animal waste, at more than 60 sampling locations. The data are used to Inner DEER ISLAND estimate values for areas not sampled. Harbor TREATMENT PLANT Charles Enterococcus Bacteria In Wet River Weather Before Improvements Sewage effluent and solids were discharged daily into Boston Harbor through outfalls near the Deer Island and Nut Island treatment plants. Dorchester Bay LEGEND Geometric mean (number of bacteria, colonies per 100 ml sample). Lighter blue shading indicates lower Quincy NUT bacteria counts. Bay ISLAND TREATMENT 0-5 105-158 PLANT 6-10 159-275 Neponset River 11-35 >275 36-104 Old Treatment Plant Outfalls MWRA has been monitoring water quality in Boston Harbor and its tributary rivers since 1989. After Improvements Enterococcus Bacteria In Wet Mystic 2012-2016 Weather After MWRA Upgraded Collecting data before the new treatment facili- River ties were constructed has helped to measure the Treatment and Equipment effects of the new facilities and identify changes The Nut Island Treatment Plant was replaced by a headworks, which screens in water quality over time. sewage before sending it to Deer Island. Inner DEER ISLAND Harbor TREATMENT Once treated, Deer Island effluent is MWRA monitors water quality at more than 50 PLANT Charles discharged through a 9.5-mile deep locations in Boston Harbor. Measurements are also River rock outfall to Massachusetts Bay. made in the Charles, Mystic, and Neponset rivers. The data is irrefutable - the beaches and eco- system of Boston Harbor have rebounded and the economic impact to the city’s waterfront has been remarkable. Dorchester Bay More than 300 technical reports and more than 1,000 scientific papers on the subjects of Quincy Boston Harbor and Massachusetts Bay Bay document environmental Nut Island conditions and changes Headworks Neponset since the treatment facilities River were brought on-line. Reduction In Annual CSO Volume Combined sewer overflows into Boston Harbor and its tributary rivers have been reduced by nearly 3 billion gallons, with 93% of the remaining flows receiving treatment. 3.50 3.00 2.50 Treated 2.00 Untreated 1.50 1.00 (Billions of Gallons) 0.50 0.00 1988 2016 MWRA’s efforts to eliminate wet-weather discharges of Swimmable Beaches After MWRA Improvements sewage and stormwater have resulted in the cleanest Overall bacterial water quality is better today at Boston urban beaches in the country. Harbor’s beaches, due in large part to MWRA projects Protecting Massachusetts Bay Percent of samples meeting the saltwater swimming including the Boston Harbor Project, and the Combined Even though Deer Island’s discharge was moved from standard for Enterococcus at Harbor Beaches 2012-2016: Sewer Overflow (CSO) Long-Term Control Plan. Boston Harbor to Massachusetts Bay, bacteria remain at Carson Beach bacteria levels have dropped since 2011: safe levels for recreation and shellfishing at monitoring stations near the outfall and closer to the coast. % Samples not meeting standards 94% 99% 91% Rainfall (inches, summer season) 20 CSO Storage Tunnel opened 18 16 Constitution South Boston Malibu 14 Beach Beaches Beach 12 10 South Boston beaches have met swimming standards 99% 8 of the time in the last 5 years. Today, any high bacteria 6 counts are mainly from stormwater runoff, which often 4 contains animal waste and other sources of bacteria. 2 0 0 0 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 Authority Resources andtheharbor. rivers restricted beach and quality water degrade and life harm aquatic pollutants the into directly andflow drain pipe, entering pollutants many prevent While Catch DumpInto Don’t pet such Harbor help How Water Massachusetts waste harbor. could our as some you keep catch closures Basins motor waterways a clean can use storm can result from can pollutants These basins Boston seriously of enter oil and drain in and or a Fats, Cease trash wastewater material ofundissolved Ifascrap water. all –in –orat quickly dissolve don’t towels, floss andpaper as such thetoilet, flushdown to Products Flush NotTo What cool, into and To sewer household not waste or can bend Please in that supplies personal your personal dispose at water-soluble. trigger grease, could an cooking your then or can, mains, disposal make The home empty bump and care gets that cause of local throw in pipes a carefully care Grease properly: household causing growth the oils sure other products, caught or might site. metal inside household a neighborhood. and wipes, recycling and it sewer to in household They nasty dispose pour seem of grease can. on a the public in cleaning pipe, fats, buildup dental backup a coat the trash. clogs. them Let nick, bin safe oils are it of it For a larger print version, please call 617-788-1170. call please version, print alarger For Wastewater Citizens Advisory Committee Citizens Wastewater MWRA Advisory Board Authority Resources Water Massachusetts Boston, Avenue 100 First Yard Navy Charlestown Authority Resources Water Massachusetts Where To Go For FurtherInformation GoFor To Where MA 02129 RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMER RESIDENTIAL www.mwra.com/monthly/wac/wac.htm www.mwraadvisoryboard.com www.mwra.com Harbor Boston ? IS CLEAN HOW 617-788-4436 617-788-2050 617-788-1170 U.S. Postage Paid Presort Standard N. Reading, MA Permit #211 ECRWSS Dear Customer, and stormwater into the Charles, Mystic and Every June, you receive a detailed report on your drinking water. We thought Neponset rivers and onto we should also tell you something about your sewer system and the health of beaches to prevent flooding Boston Harbor and its tributary rivers. into streets and basements. Since its creation in 1984, MWRA has completed several large-scale projects Completed in 2015, the including the state-of-the-art sewage treatment plant on Deer Island that program included 35 treats an average of 350 million gallons of wastewater each day from 43 separate projects in Boston, communities in greater Boston. The sludge that used to pour daily into Boston Brookline, Cambridge, Harbor is now recycled into commercial fertilizer, and nearly all of the Chelsea and Somerville. overflows of raw sewage that used to spill into rivers or onto local beaches Over 100 miles of new during heavy rains are now sent to the sewer system or receive treatment. sewers and storm drains Now healthy, Boston Harbor has attracted people and economic development For Over One Hundred Years, the were installed. Major back to the waterfront. Boston now boasts the cleanest urban beaches in the disposal of the daily waste of Boston projects included a storage country, and swimming in the Charles River is close to becoming a reality. And and its surrounding commuities tunnel in South Boston that our Board of Directors and staff are committed to keeping it this way: we have received only limited treatment before captures discharges that used a nationally recognized maintenance program in place to protect these being dumped right into Boston Harbor. to cause beach closures, and an investments to ensure that we never again ignore this critical infrastructure. It was only 30 years ago that the Harbor innovative stormwater wetland in We hope you find this information interesting. For more information on this was known as the “dirtiest harbor in Cambridge that includes plant and or any of MWRA’s programs, please visit our website at www.mwra.com or America.” Today, it’s the sparkling wildlife habitats and natural flood contact us. centerpiece of the city. The Boston control. It not only improves water Harbor Clean-up is widely recognized as quality in the Alewife Brook, but also Sincerely, one of the nation’s greatest environ- provides a new and unique recreational mental achievements. and educational open space. Frederick A. Laskey The federal court order that drove the CSO discharges have decreased by over Executive Director clean-up of Boston Harbor called not 2.7 billion gallons a year and 93% of the only for the construction of new remaining discharges are treated before wastewater treatment facilities at Deer being released. In 2020, MWRA must MWRA is governed by an 11-member Board of Directors who are appointed by the Governor or Island, but the control of combined submit to the federal court the results directly or indirectly by elected officials in MWRA customer communities. The current members are: sewer overflows (CSOs) – old pipe of a three-year performance assessment Matthew A. Beaton, Chair Secretary, Executive Office of Energy & Environmental Affairs networks that dumped both sewage to demonstrate the program’s success. John J. Carroll, Vice Chair General Manager, Norwood (Retired) Andrew M. Pappastergion, Sec. Commissioner, Brookline Department of Public Works Austin F. Blackmon Chief of Environment, Energy and Open Space, Boston Kevin L. Cotter Business Manager, Plumbers and Gasfitters Local 12 (Retired) Paul E. Flanagan Fire Chief and Director of Emergency Management, Winthrop Joseph C. Foti Deputy Administrator and Chief of Operations, MassDOT Highway Div. Brian Peña Commissioner, Lawrence Water and Sewer Department Henry F. Vitale Executive Director, Boston Water and Sewer Commission John J. Walsh Retired Engineer and Community Activist, Quincy Jennifer L. Wolowicz Assistant Town Administrator, South Hadley The MWRA Advisory Board represents the interests of the cities and towns in the MWRA service area..