Residents on Fulton, Richmond and Commercial Streets are well aware of the work going on by Boston Water & Sewer regarding groundwater testing. They are injecting dyed water into the ground and then checking if the dye is seen in sewers or other drainage locations.
There is an upcoming State hearing on protecting groundwater levels, an initiative by the Groundwater Emergency Task Force and several legislators. The North End/Waterfront community gained some protections a few years ago after being excluded for many years.
The Joint Committee on the Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture is holding a hearing on the groundwater bill December 1, 2009 at 11 a.m. in Room A-2 of the State House.
House Bill No. 852 is called “An Act to protect groundwater levels.”
The bill can be reviewed at:
http://www.mass.gov/legis/bills/house/186/ht00pdf/ht00852.pdf
State Representative, Aaron Michlewitz, worked on this bill and will be testifying to support its passage.
State Senator, Anthony Petruccelli, is chair of the Joint Committee on the Environment, Natural Resources & Agriculture. http://www.mass.gov/legis/comm/j21.htm.
Click on the following link for the Boston Groundwater Trust’s comments on the proposed legislation.
http://www.bostongroundwater.org/let114.html
For more information about Boston’s groundwater problems:
www.bostongroundwater.org.
Thanks to David Kubiak for passing on this information. NEWRA may organize a neighborhood effort before the December 1st hearing to prepare testimony. Interested residents should email groundwater@newra.org.
