Combined Sewer Overflows In The Boston Area

Want to read the rest of this paper? Join Essayworld today to view this entire essay and over 50,000 other term papers

against Massachusetts for violations of the Clean Water Act, that the state decided to make updates to its system (Aubrey, Connor 62). The result of these lawsuits was the creation of the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) in late 1984. Once the MWRA took control of the sewer system changes began to be made. The MWRA oversaw the construction of new primary and secondary treatment plants of Deer Island, which removed the mandatory 85% of pollutants in the wastewater required by the Clean Water Act (MWRA website). They built a new 9.5 mile outfall tunnel which would dump effluent into the deep open ocean currents of Boston Harbor.
Because of these achievements, Boston Harbor began to lose its reputation as one of the most polluted harbors in the country, until it rained. When it rained, the excess sewage still spilled through the release valves, into nearby bodies of water. It was obvious that the CSO problem had to be taken care of in some form or another for the ...

Get instant access to over 50,000 essays. Write better papers. Get better grades. Already a member? Login

by 1919, many of the areas shellfish beds were closed due to sewage pollution. In an attempt to remedy this situation, the Metropolitan District Commission (MDC) took control of the MSD. The MDC couldn't stop the pollution and by 1933 all shellfish taken from Boston Harbor required some form of purification (MWRA website). It wasn't until 1940 that state legislators recommended the construction of treatment plants at the three raw sewage discharge points: Moon Island, Nut Island and Deer Island.
The Nut Island Primary Wastewater Treatment Plant was the first of the plants to be built in Boston Harbor. It was completed in 1952 and treated the sewage collected from the southern Boston ...

Succeed in your coursework without stepping into a library. Get access to a growing library of notes, book reports, and research papers in 2 minutes or less.

CITE THIS PAGE: