Reports: Executive Director’s Reports

March 26, 2009

  1. City-State Groundwater Working Group - The Group will meet again in April.
  2. MBTA - The MBTA has sent a letter to the Commonwealth requesting that the $2,000,000 in state funds for construction of a potential solution to low groundwater levels near Back Bay Station be redirected to a maintenance fund for the long term solution to be installed by the T. Both Jim Hunt and I signed the letter, indicating our agreement.
  3. DCR - DCR should be able to complete the connection that will allow any water handled by the west pumping station of the Storrow Drive Tunnel to be recharged into the galleys installed under Back Street by BWSC early this spring.
  4. BWSC - BWSC expects to have divers conducting the repairs to leaks on Commercial Street in the North End and Beacon Street in Back Bay shortly. Repairs to a leaking sewer line in Blagdon Street behind the Boston Public Library are more complex, but they are expected to be completed within about six months. BWSC will be lining sewer lines in the Back Bay, Beacon Hill, and South End this spring and summer; many of these sections are in areas of low groundwater and showed defects during the BWSC’s television inspection of its low sewers last year. BWSC will be repairing leaking sewer lines in several locations in Back Bay and the Flat of Beacon Hill in the next year; repairs will include the installation of recharge systems.
  5. MTA - The MTA expects to complete the repairs to leaks in a drain line near Clarendon Street in the near future.
  6. MWRA - Construction has begun on their project to replace their sewer system in East Boston. As part of this work, they will deactivate and fill the sewer along Porter Street that is in the area of consistently very low readings; the pipe should be filled before the end of 2009.
  7. GCOD - Compliance with GCOD remains excellent. Although applications to the Board of Appeals seem to have dropped because of the slowing economy, there continue to be several recharge systems approved under GCOD almost every hearing session.
  8. Legislation - There have been two bills filed with the Legislature that address aspects of the groundwater issue. They have been assigned to committee, and hearings are likely in the Spring.
  9. Meeting - I met, along with Gordon Richardson and Susan Scott of Citywide GET, with Senator Sonia Chang-Diaz to brief her on groundwater issues.
  10. Public Meeting - NABB will be hosting a public meeting on groundwater at the Boston Public Library on April 26. Both Tim and I will be involved in the presentation.
  11. Website - By most indicators, traffic at our website in March has been at its highest levels in a year or more. I continue to get positive feedback on the site.
  12. Project Comments - I attended the scoping session at the BRA for the proposed Government Center Garage Redevelopment. I filed comments this week; as always, they have been posted on our website.