Tufts, EPA to pledge money to Mystic River clean-up efforts
August 31President Larry Bacow announced yesterday that Tufts will contribute $90,000 to a project monitoring and improving the quality of water in the Mystic River. Grants from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the University, and the Massachusetts Water Resource Authority (MWRA) total over $450,000 and will be used over two years to buy, build, and operate the equipment. Bacow announced the grant, which will help strengthen relations between Tufts and neighboring Somerville, alongside Mayor Dorothy Kelly Gay at a press conference yesterday at the Winter Hill Yacht Club. Bacow said that Tufts' contribution to the project reflects his commitment to faculty, since a large part of the University's contribution will pay for equipment that will be used by professors and staff. The EPA pledged $363,257 yesterday to be used over two years. The money will be used to build and maintain a system that will track key water quality indicators, including bacteria levels from sewage dumped into the river. The project aims to make the Mystic River - which Gay called "long neglected" - clean enough for swimming and fishing by 2010. The Mystic, whose 76-mile watershed region includes major hazardous waste sites, is one of the country's most polluted rivers. "It wasn't so much a formal effort on behalf of the University, but I think it was largely driven by people who had a very strong interest in seeing the river basin cleaned up," Director of Community Relations Barbara Rubel said. By tracking key statistics in 15-minute increments, researchers from the University's civil and environment engineering department will predict water quality levels. Because data will be collected in real time, area residents looking to swim or fish in the river will be able to call an information line and listen to recorded announcements about the water's safety that day. The project will also post water quality predictions on a web site and raise flags at recreational sites along the river to advise the half-million residents who live near the river whether the water is safe. Tufts' involvement with the Mystic began in 1975, when the faculty hosted its first conference on the river. Since then, various projects from the engineering school have centered around the river. "The University's interest in the river goes way back," Rubel said. "There have been various studies done out of the [school] of engineering." Grace Perez, who directs the Mystic River Watershed Association, the umbrella organization coordinating work on the river, described the Mystic as a "true gem," where residents can find and enjoy nature nearby. It is a gem that suffers from the inadequacy of the region's 19th-century sewers. The system mixes street runoff with sewage, and during heavy rains, the network of pipes is overwhelmed and dumps excess runoff and household waste into the river at one of eight overflow points. The nearby Charles River received national attention in the mid-1990s during an aggressive campaign to clean the river, which is still in progress. But until now, local authorities have largely neglected the Mystic, even though ten percent of the state's population lives in the 21 cities and towns along it. Michael Capuano, a Massachusetts state congressman who served as Somerville's mayor during the mid-1990s, said yesterday he looks forward to the day he can jump into the Mystic River, just as former governor William Weld once jumped into the Charles in a now-famous political stunt.
