Reports: Executive Director’s Reports

December 20, 2007

  1. City-State Groundwater Working Group - The Working Group is scheduled to meet again on January 24.
  2. DCR - The DCR continues to study the issues surrounding the Storrow Drive tunnel reconstruction along with those involving other DCR bridges and roadways in the Charles River Basin area. We have been told that the budget for interim repairs at the Storrow Drive tunnel includes funding for the interim recharge system, but its inclusion will not be committed until the budget and funding is clearer.
  3. MBTA - The T convened a joint meeting of the Technical Advisory Committee of the City-State Groundwater Working Group and the Project Action Team to hear the recommendations of the engineers for a system designed to increase groundwater levels in the section of the South End near Back Bay Station. The recommended system consists of a series of recharge points to inject water that is currently being discharged from the Follen Street pump station. The design will also include an underground barrier wall along Berkeley and Chandler Streets that would prevent some of the flow of groundwater toward the MBTA tracks. The plan is for a public meeting to be held in January followed by a formal presentation of the plan to the General Manager for approval. Design and approvals would likely take all of 2008, with construction beginning in the spring of 2009. The underground wall would be bid as an add-alternative; depending upon bids received, it may not be constructed unless the recharge system doesn’t adequately raise groundwater levels. Still to be answered is how adequate levels of maintenance for the system will be assured.
  4. BWSC - We have installed data loggers in the two new observation wells on Back Street to assess the impact on groundwater levels of the recharge galleys installed by BWSC.
  5. GCOD - Compliance with GCOD continues to be well enforced by the BRA, ISD, and the Board of Appeals. We have developed a guide to the process and expect to post it to our website shortly.
  6. North End - The injection well was installed in the parking lot in the North End and a substantial amount of dye was injected. Because of freeze concerns, flow to the well has been cut off; however, both BWSC and the MTA are continuing to monitor multiple locations for the dye. Additional dye may be injected when the weather gets a little warmer.
  7. Website - Traffic to the website remains at the lower levels that we have seen since the summer. We continue to get compliments from diverse sources on the value of the information on the site and on its ease of use.
  8. Research Projects - We are hoping to sign a contract with the City to fund the installation and subsequent removal of the pilot foundation project in East Boston. We expect pricing imminently from our preferred contractor and are still working to resolve some technical issues. If all goes well, the work will happen in January and February.
  9. Comment Letters - I have filed comments recently on projects at 120 Kingston Street, 585 Commercial Street, the Gardner Museum, and Simpson Parcel 1 in the Bulfinch Triangle. I just received a PNF for a project at 350 Boylston Street on which I expect to file comments in January. As always, all comment letters are posted on our website.