RESTORING THE URBAN WATER ENVIRONMENT

Photo by Eric Endlich

A collaborative project between Charles River Watershed Association and Conservation Law Foundation from 2004 to 2008

The Restoring the Urban Water Environment project was undertaken to address the water crisis facing Eastern Massachusetts, in which demand has outstripped the carrying capacity, or sustainability, of our water resources, and pollution threatens both aquatic habitat and recreation. The project focused on two primary areas of water resource law, policy and regulation:  water supply and stormwater.  Conservation Law Foundation and CRWA launched this collaboration to create an integrated, sustainable water policy that would ensure adequate water supply and healthy, clean waterways in the Greater Boston area and beyond.

Background

The project was a collaborative effort that drew upon the substantial experience and expertise of the two organizations. CRWA is the preeminent watershed organization in the nation, with a long history of practical hands-on watershed experience, an activist grassroots constituency, multi-disciplinary technical expertise, and strong policy and legal expertise. CLF is the regional leader on clean water and smart growth, and brings nationally recognized federal Clean Water Act expertise to the project. The combined capabilities of the two organizations provided a unique opportunity to create a fundamental change in water policy and regulation, and water management infrastructure. Our successes are now laying the groundwork for eliminating looming water conflicts and shortages in eastern Massachusetts, and providing a template for sustainable water use in urban areas.

With over 40 inches a year of rainfall, and perhaps more with climate change, Massachusetts has ample water and could easily support significant growth while maintaining plentiful, clean water resources, if we manage our resources right.  CRWA was among the first organizations in the country to identify and understand this process and its consequences, and our science programs from 1994 to the present have identified both root causes and potential comprehensive solutions.  

Project Highlights

Through innovative advocacy at the state and federal level, CRWA and CLF have begun to address these problems.  Important milestones of this project included:

• The release of new draft stormwater regulations by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP),

• A preliminary determination by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that new federal stormwater regulations and permits were necessary

• The introduction of new legislation to protect streamflow levels, and

• New water supply permits with conservation requirements.

Much of the work begun in the RUWE project is being carried forward in a targeted new project, Saving Water, which began in 2008.

For more information on this project, contact Director of Projects Kate Bowditch. Click here for contact information.