Charles River under public health warning due to sewage runoff from storms
BOSTON - A public health warning is in effect for the Charles River Wednesday due to expected high bacteria counts from sewage overflow.
The problem is due to heavy rainfall from recent storms - sewage treatment facilities are so overwhelmed the untreated sewage has to be discharged. The Mystic River Watershed Association (MRWA) is asking people to avoid contact with the river water for the next 48 hours.
"We're basically saying there's too much poop in the water still, too much bacteria that might make you sick," said Patrick Herron of the MRWA. "And so stay away and let that clear out of the system."
At Paddle Boston, staff are washing their hands frequently and taking extra precautions.
"Just don't fall in, that's it, just don't fall in, stay on the water," said Brian, who was going out on a paddleboard. "More bacteria than usual because of all the runoff."
"A lot of the gunk will get caught in our corrals, as you can tell, there is a lot of trash in there," said Kaela Heinstein. "We do try our best to pick it out when we can but it always piles up."
Herron said it's been an overwhelming year, saying 12 million gallons of untreated sewage have spilled into the Alewife Brook, not even counting the runoff from Tuesday's storm.
"This year alone, we've seen about double the volume as we would expect in a typical year," said Herron.
There's a similar warning in effect for the Merrimack River, where the MWRA said a sewage treatment plant in Lowell got overwhelmed by rain.
"We have started issuing notifications to the public just reminding them that this has happened and that they should avoid recreational contact with the Merrimack River for a couple of days," said Thomas Carbone, the director of public health in Andover.
It's a state law enacted two years ago that impacted communities have to be notified when there is an untreated sewage discharge to make an informed decision about using the local waterway.