Do you know what's in your water? It's a simple question, but the answer could have you drinking anything but H2O: pathogens, sewage, contaminated sediments, toxic metals, and chemicals plague Massachusetts's polluted water system, which has the second-worst water quality in the US, ranked above only New Jersey.
This week, from April 17 to 21, the Massachusetts Community Water Watch (MCWW) will sponsor its first Mystic River Awareness Week at Tufts. The program will include five days of activities designed to promote environmental consciousness and awareness of Massachusetts's watershed problems.
Highlights of the week include a showing of Chinatown on April 17 at Barnum and a speech by biodiversity expert Peter Alden in Cabot Auditorium on Wednesday. The week culminates with River Clean-up Day at the Mystic River on April 21, the day before Earth Day.
The river clean up, which will be held at Middlesex Boys and Girls Club Boathouse, is one of 11 local clean-ups taking place on Saturday. It will be followed by a festival with face painting, a live band, a raffle, and lunch. The event guest list looks impressive, with Medford Mayor Michael McGlynn and Massachusetts State Representative Patricia Jehlen scheduled to speak to the 400 volunteers.
The idea for the program came mainly from AmeriCorps member and Tufts' MCWW Program Director Stephanie Gros, who worked closely with Tufts students to plan a week's worth of activities to increase awareness of the river clean, which is part of the AmeriCore program.
"So many times I have heard people say the Mystic River is polluted and nobody cares and there is nothing you can do about it," Gros said. But, "nothing is impossible, and organizing people, especially college students, is a powerful way to enact change."
The organizers of the MCWW chose to focus on Tufts because of the University's proximity to the Mystic River and its tributaries. "It seems that a lot of students at Tufts don't know the river is so polluted, and many don't even realize that Tufts is so close to a river they could potentially get a lot of use out of," MCWW member Bret Kricun said.
"When I tell people about the Mystic River, their first response is usually something like, 'Well, where is that?'"
Kricum and others hope the popular student perspective can be altered. "The awareness week is not just designed to get people ready for the big cleanup on the 21st, but it is also designed to get people thinking globally and acting locally," he said.
In 1972 Congress passed the Clean Water Act with the goal of making all US waterways "swimmable and fishable" by 1985. This goal has not been met. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency considers 65 percent of the lakes and streams in Massachusetts to be too polluted for swimming or fishing.
"Water is increasingly being seen as our next natural resource problem, both locally and globally," said Paul Kirshen, a research associate professor of civil and environmental engineering. Kirshen, one of the founders of the Mystic River Watershed Collaborative, said the Collaborative is a great way to get students involved in protecting the environment while also gaining valuable academic experience.
"It is difficult to create awareness of water problems in a society that's so consumer oriented," she said. "This is America in the 21st century: We're still discharging sewage into our rivers that are flowing right through our backyards."
The MCWW has also organized daily water testing, educational field trips for local elementary schools, and another Mystic River clean-ups to take place in October.
MCWW members are optimistic about the potential gains from the clean up. "By spending a few hours outside with friends, trying on waders and paddling in canoes towards floating trash, Tufts students can crucially alter the fate of the river; only with heightened consciousness... can Water Watch [MCWW] ever succeed," said MCWW member Allison Archambault.
MCWW is part of the Mystic River Watershed Collaborative, founded last year by the University College of Citizenship and Public Service. The Collaborative includes MCWW, the Mystic River Watershed Association (MRWA), Tufts' Institute for the Environment (TIE), Tufts' faculty members, and various grassroots citizen organizations representing different water bodies in the Massachusetts watershed. Funding for Mystic River Awareness week comes from the Collaborative, the MRWA and TIE, as well as the Tufts Community Union Senate and Tufts Concert Board.
A watershed is the area that drains rainwater to a river. The Mystic River watershed is a 76 square mile area that includes land where runoff and storm sewers bring water to the Mystic, as well as the Aberjona River, Alewife Brook, Chelsea Creek, Malden River and Mill Brook, along with numerous ponds and lakes. It is home to over 400,000 people in 21 cities.
