Looking forward to big changes for Cheesecake Brook!
Last week, CRWA Senior Stormwater Program Manager Max Rome met with staff from the City of Newton, Weston & Sampson, and R.A.D. Sports for a pre-construction meeting on improvements to Albemarle field and along Cheesecake Brook. He has exciting news about what to expect in the coming year:
After the holidays, residents will see construction fencing go up. When weather permits, excavation will begin for a large subsurface storage system to collect stormwater flows (which currently discharge untreated into the brook). This system is designed to redirect and store 100% of the stormwater runoff generated by a 6-acre neighborhood. The infiltration system resembles a series of milk tanks sandwiched between layers of gravel of geo-textile, and has a volume of nearly 50,000 cubic feet, meaning it can store more than half of an Olympic swimming pool worth of stormwater! This system was designed to store all of the runoff generated by up to 25-year storm, slowly releasing rainwater into the ground where it will be filtered before entering the Brook as baseflow.
By mid-August, the installation of this system will be complete and capped beneath a new athletic field. While the system will be largely invisible, its impacts will be felt with each storm, as it silently improves water quality, reduces the severity of flooding, and balances flow during periods of drought.
By late summer, work will begin on the “mitigation area.” This is an exciting part of the project that involves replacing nearly an acre of mowed turf river banks with native plants and improved stormwater transport. Ten asphalt gutters which carry runoff directly into the brook will be replaced with filter turrets to spread runoff into planted areas where smaller storms can soak into the restored banks.
If you are interested in learning more about the project, CRWA will be hosting a hybrid public meeting on January 21st, and join our mailing list for future updates on this project.
