Wednesday saw the second day in a row of combined sewer overflow, the term for releasing waste into public waterways when sewer and water systems get overwhelmed.
Treated CSO discharged into the Mystic River in Somerville from 4:20 to 6:32 p.m., potentially affecting the area at Draw Seven Park downstream from the Amelia Earhart Dam, according to a city alert. A state law from 2022 requires notice to residents when discharges last more than two hours. Another Somerville discharge identified by the state ran for 31 minutes at Baxter Park in Assembly Row, just downstream of the Route 28 Bridge.
The Cambridge overflow website shows a discharges of 16 minutes at 4:39 p.m. into the Charles River, downstream of the Elliot Bridge across from Mount Auburn Hospital.
Residents are advised to avoid contact with these bodies of water for 48 hours after the discharge or the end of the overflow, because the sewage brings health risks from bacteria and other pollutants.
A $1.3 billion plan to reduce the CSOs – the result of four years of collaboration between Cambridge, Somerville and the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority – is being prepared for presentation next year to the federal Environmental Protection Agency and state Department of Environmental Protection. If the plan is accepted, the work is expected to take into the 2050s.
Comment is being taken on the draft control plan now; a project team is taking questions in person from 5 to 7 p.m. July 30 in the community room of the Fresh Pond Apartments, 366 Rindge Ave., near Alewife in North Cambridge. The next session is virtual, from noon to 2 p.m. Aug. 10.
Information about the discharges are at the Somerville CSO page, Cambridge CSO page and MWRA CSO page.
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