ABC Stormwater Flooding Board - May 9th, 2017

Joint Powers Agreement. Our boards agreement expires on Dec 31st, 2017, and there are plans to work on a renewal. Wayne has been in contact with Sen. Brownsberger about the renewal. There will likely be public meetings between now and then (separate meetings for Arlington, Belmont, and Cambridge).

Spy Pond/Alewife Gauge Study. We've had money to fund a study. It looks like we'll study the possibility for using spy pond as a retaining basin, in the event of a large storm. Current thinking is to do this by modifying the pond's gate structure. The plan is to investigate the option; we don't know for sure if it will be feasible. The data gathering phase is ongoing.

Belmont Member. On hold for now.

Mystic 35 Project Update. In 2015, a tanker truck spilled fuel oil into the Mystic River. The operator of the truck paid a fine, and the proceeds from the fine are available to affected municipalities, to use for water cleanup projects. Arlington plans to rehabilitate one storm water outflow, which drains into the mystic river. The outflow is in a deteriorated state; we'll fix it first. We also want to perform some riverfront restoration, to make a settling area that can capture sediment.

DCR is doing similar maintenance in the area. Yes, you heard that right -- DCR is doing maintenance. Write that down. With a pen.

MyRWA 319 Grant Project. There is a pilot project near the intersection of Egerton and Herbert Roads. The project will construct a rain garden at the end of the roadway, to provide stormwater treatment before the water enters storm drains and is taken away to Alewife Brook. If this project is successful, we might try similar things at other intersections.

Other Items. Lanes and Games. The proposed development will be outside the floodplain, by virtue of height. The ground floor will be parking, and the building itself will be built above the 100-year flood plain. Cambridge will require the developer to build to 2070 resilience standards, which includes a requirement to have enough on-site storage for eight hours of sewer retention (i.e., the building must be able to store sewage on site, in the event of a flood).

Cambridge's pie-in-the-sky goals for the Alewife area include a bicycle/pedestrian bridge over the commuter rail tracks, and ideally, a train station near the Alewife/Discovery Park area.