{"id":241,"date":"2018-06-29T11:35:30","date_gmt":"2018-06-29T11:35:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nehsjc.org\/therenaissance\/?p=241"},"modified":"2018-06-29T11:35:30","modified_gmt":"2018-06-29T11:35:30","slug":"charles-river-gets-top-grade-still-needs-improvement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nehsjc.org\/therenaissance\/charles-river-gets-top-grade-still-needs-improvement\/","title":{"rendered":"Charles River Gets Top Grade, Still Needs Improvement"},"content":{"rendered":"

Though The Standells may \u201clove that dirty water\u201d<\/a>, they may be interested to know that the Charles River recently received an \u201cA-\u201d bacterial water quality rating from the Environmental Protection Agency.<\/p>\n

There are some experts, however, who say that the A- rating does not tell the whole story.<\/p>\n

Robert Zimmerman, Executive Director of the Charles River Watershed Association (CRWA), said there is still work to be done to make the Charles environmentally sound.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Charles, according to the EPA, is the cleanest urban river in the country,\u201d said Zimmerman. \u201cSo we should get an \u2018A\u2019 when you grade us against all other urban rivers. However, that doesn\u2019t actually mean the river is clean.\u201d<\/p>\n

The CRWA, a non-profit organization devoted to keeping the Charles clean, proposes new ideas and techniques that may further improve water quality. An educational component also teaches the community about climate change and how to properly interpret data.<\/p>\n

Zimmerman stressed that Boston area residents should not be lulled into believing that the environmental hazards of the water are completely resolved. He said that data and computer models calculating the future conditions of climate change are not necessarily accurate.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo far the IPCC [Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change] models have missed on the conservative side what\u2019s actually happening in the world,\u201d said Zimmerman. \u201cMeaning that the IPCC is anticipating that things are a lot better than they actually are\u2026 We are beginning to experience consequences far more rapidly with greater severity than what we had anticipated.\u201d<\/p>\n

The CRWA has identified some key issues affecting the Charles, one being wastewater, which is a roadblock to restoring the natural flow of the river.<\/p>\n

Wastewater has been filtered the same way since the 19th century. The CRWA has proposed a new technique for filtering and repurposing this wastewater, which has the possibility to be both more environmentally and cost efficient.<\/p>\n

According to the CRWA, Community Water and Energy Resource Centers, or CWERCs, take wastewater and filter the organic material commonly known as \u201cwaste\u201d. This byproduct is fed to bugs which decompose it to produce methane gas. This methane gas is very similar to natural gas, and while half of the gas produced is used to power the CWERC, the other half can be sold. The then filtered water could be used for anything besides drinking or bathing.<\/p>\n

For Charles River abutters, Zimmerman advised it is most important to stay educated from a reliable source, and use that knowledge to elect officials who will be a driving force towards reforming our environment and bodies of water.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to invest in change,\u201d Zimmerman underscored. \u201cIf we don\u2019t insist on this, it won\u2019t happen.\u201d<\/p>\n