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Residents, students press City Council and MBTA to address Alewife sewage in redevelopment
Summary
Large public turnout urged the City Council and state agencies to require Alewife redevelopment plans to prioritize eliminating combined sewer overflows (CSOs), endorsing wetlands and underground storage as tools while staff said a formal CSO control planning process is already under way.
Hundreds of residents, students and environmental advocates told the Cambridge City Council on June 9 that redevelopment of the MBTA’s Alewife Station site presents a once-in-a-generation chance to fix chronic sewage discharges into Alewife Brook.
Speakers at public comment urged the City to press the MBTA, the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) and the governor to require concrete CSO mitigation in the MBTA redevelopment request for proposals (RFP). Many recommended a mix of “green” solutions — constructed wetlands and rain gardens — and “gray” solutions such as underground storage tanks to hold stormwater and combined flows until they can be routed to treatment.
Eric Grunenbaum, a North Cambridge resident who has tracked overflows, told the council the site is “a unique opportunity” to pair new…
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