Achievements of the Mystic River Federal Partnership

2015

FEMA Projects

FEMA has a long-standing presence in the Mystic River Watershed with regards to water quantity and flooding issues. FEMA was very involved in the Watershed Summit and in early Steering Committee meetings. We contacted FEMA and they have agreed to re-engage with this initiative on water quantity issues as they relate to water quality and overflows. There are many opportunities to engage their expertise in our Water Quality Work Group and SSO work.

Canoemobile Partnerships Brings New Paddlers!

In September 2015, Canoemobile, by Wilderness Inquiry, came to the Mystic River enabling more than 300 students from the City of Somerville to venture on to the Mystic in 24-foot Voyageur canoes. In addition to the on the water activities, partnering agencies such as US Forest Service, the National Park Service and EPA manned land based stations where students learned about water quality, local history and the environment through hands-on activities. This was the pilot year of the Canoemobile program in the Boston area with intention to continue in future years in order to connect urban youth to the natural world through hands-on and outdoor learning.

Stream Gauge Installation

In August 2015, USGS installed three new stream gauges (for a total of six in the watershed) on the Mystic River in August 2015. After the gauges are tested, all the data will be available live online. Data from these gauges will be analyzed by EPA, USGS and the Mystic River Watershed Association in order to aid in the development of a phosphorous loading study for the watershed. The findings of this study will be used in the development of a TMDL for Phosphorus, which could have significant impacts on water quality in the watershed.