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CambridgePark
Drive Area Drainage Project
(Alewife Stormwater Wetland)
City
of Cambridge Stormwater Management
Project
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Project
Overview |
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This
project is a component of the
Massachusetts Water Resources
Authority’s (MWRA) Long
Term Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO)
Control Plan for the Alewife Brook.
The objective of the CSO Control
Plan is to minimize CSO discharges
into Alewife Brook and the Little
River, thereby improving water
quality. This project component
involves the construction of a
stormwater conveyance and control
system from the rotary at Fresh
Pond Parkway and Concord Avenue
down Wheeler Street, turning westerly
and running parallel with the
rail road tracks to Fawcett Street
(approximately) then heading north
under the rail road tracks across
the parking lot at 120 CambridgePark
Drive, proceeding under CambridgePark
Drive and continuing north adjacent
to 115 CambridgePark Drive and
entering the Alewife Reservation
and discharges into a newly created
stormwater treatment wetland system
prior to discharging into the
Little River.
The stormwater treatment wetland
system consists of a series
of stormwater treatment features
including: a forebay, a vegetated
channel/swale, and a series
of high and low marsh and open
water channels. The design goals
and objects established for
the stormwater wetland are as
follows:
- to attenuate stormwater
flows to the Little River
through the design and construction
of an ecologically enhanced
wetland system with a storage
capacity of 10.3 acre-feet,
- to enhance the quality of
the stormwater discharged
to the river,
- to provide a stormwater
wetland that also functions
as habitat for the diverse
species of birds and mammals
presently utilizing the site,
- to design a treatment system
that complements the Department
of Conservation and Recreation’s
(DCR) Master Plan for the
Alewife Reservation and Alewife
Brook Corridor including the
provision of educational and
recreational features,
- to maintain the volume of
the 100-year floodplain consistent
with FEMA and State regulations,
and
- to minimize impact to bordering
vegetated wetlands.
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View
Concept Plan |
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Why
is this Project Necessary? |
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Construction
of the stormwater conveyance
pipe and wetland treatment system
is necessary to allow for the
sewer separation of a combined
sewer area in Cambridge referred
to as CAM004. CAM004 is a predominately
residential area that lies to
the east of Fresh Pond Reservation.
A new stormwater outfall is
required to be constructed prior
to sewer separation beginning
in this area to provide for
a way for the separated stormwater
to get to the Little River.
The stormwater treatment wetland
is a stormwater management approach
that will help store, treat
and attenuate the stormwater
prior to its discharge into
the Little River, thus achieving
compliance with Department of
Environmental Protection stormwater
standards. |
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What
is Being Done to Fix the Problem? |
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Once
the stormwater conveyance pipe
and wetland treatment system
has been constructed sewer separation
can begin in the neighborhoods
east of Fresh Pond Reservation.
These neighborhoods are roughly
bordered by Fresh Pond Parkway
on the west, Bay State Road
and Garden Street to the north,
Walden Street and Appleton Street
to the east, and Highland Street
and Brattle Street to the south.
Completion of sewer separation
in these neighborhoods will
result in the closure of the
most active CSO regulator in
the Alewife area. |
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Who
is Responsible for the Project? |
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This
project is part of the MWRA’s
Long Term CSO Control Plan for
the Alewife Brook. The Cambridge
Department of Public Works (DPW)
is working with the MWRA to implement
sewer separation within the City
of Cambridge. DPW is responsible
for all sewer separation construction
activities within Cambridge that
are not part of the MWRA system.
Construction of the stormwater
conveyance system and associated
sewer separation is the responsibility
of the City of Cambridge DPW. |
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What
is the Project Schedule? |
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Currently
the project is undergoing permit
reviews and has completed a Notice
of Intent application with the
Cambridge Conservation Commission.
The stormwater wetland is expected
to begin construction in late
fall 2006 and continue through
the winter of 2006– 2007,
and should be completed by the
end of March 2006. Planting should
occur in the spring 2007. The
stormwater conveyance pipe should
begin construction in summer 2006
and be completed by spring 2008.
Sewer separation upstream of the
wetland will begin upon completion
of this contract. |
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Who
will Address My Concerns? |
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To
discuss any aspect of this project,
please contact Owen O’Riordan,
Assistant Commissioner for Engineering/City
Engineer at (617) 349-4845/
ooriordan@cambridgema.gov,
or Catherine Daly Woodbury,
Project Manager at (617) 349-4818/
cwoodbury@cambridgema.gov.
For more information on MWRA’s
CSO control programs, please
contact Stephanie Moura, MWRA
Project Manager, at (617) 788-4399.
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