CHEESECAKE BROOK
Restoring an important urban tributary
Bringing life back to our tributaries
Cheesecake Brook, a once meandering stream surrounded by wetlands, was filled, straightened, and channelized in the 1800s and 1900s. Today, the urbanized tributary flows from its headwaters near the Brae Burn Country Club, is culverted and buried beneath the Mass Pike, and emerges into a narrow masonry channel as it flows into the Charles River.
Since 2020, CRWA has partnered with the City of Newton to work towards a community vision of a restored urban stream by addressing urban drainage challenges and improving riparian habitat.
Explore the Cheesecake Brook StoryMap, a long-form exploration of the brook’s history.
THE SOLUTION
By investing in green stormwater infrastructure and bank restoration we reduce aquatic pollution, promote healthier flow patterns, and create an attractive shaded wetland corridor for the benefit of residents and wildlife.
THE PROBLEM
Alterations to the stream and its watershed have resulted in degraded water quality, a loss of habitat, and a brook that is susceptible to both drought and flooding.
More About the Project’s History:
2008-2009
Newton Releases Cheesecake Brook Master Plan
Newton’s Cheesecake Brook Master Plan focuses on improved access but includes recommendations to retrofit the corridor with rain gardens, deep sump catch basins, and that “large expanses of grassy slope be allowed to develop into meadow”.
2019-2020
CRWA Leads Community-Driven Restoration Initiative
CRWA’s Community Driven Restoration initiative revisits previous planning efforts with a focus on aquatic connectivity and habitat.
2022
Focus on Flood Mitigation
Subsurface storage within the albemarle field area is identified as a priority project by the Charles River Climate Compact. Conceptual designs for this site are included in the compact’s first Climate Adaptation &Flood Mitigation Implementation Plan.
2023
CZM Awards Engineering & Design Funding
CRWA is awarded a Coastal Habitat and Water Quality grant to update and complete the restoration plan. This grant also funds engineering and design work for substantial green infrastructure and bank restoration to be included in the City’s Phase I Improvements to Albemarle Playground.
2024
2006
A Walk Through Time Along Cheesecake Brook
“A Walk Through Time Along Cheesecake Brook”, images compiled by the Newton History museum show the historical condition of cheesecake Brook.
Massachusetts Funds Installation of Nature-Based Project
The state awards $1.24 Million to the City of Newton to fund the installation of the nature-based project elements including ~50,000 CF of flood storage and infiltration and ~1 acre of restored bank plantings.
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