The Charles River Watershed Association is touting the water quality in most parts of the Charles River, including Natick, in its latest report based on 2020 data. Though you’d never know the water quality is anything to shout about based on its outhouse stench and oily sheen smelled and seen along the Charles in Natick this month following the record July rain.
The water is gushing and stinking at the South Natick Dam
The Natick Public Works Department has inspected all town-owned wastewater facilities in the area and says all are operating normally. The town has reached out to the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority about the issue, and the outfit is checking local sewer siphons.
The Charles River Watershed Association has alerted the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection’s Emergency Response and Mass Environmental Police.
Natick officials recommend not boating, fishing, or swimming on the Charles River in Natick.
Natick’s portion of the Charles, the Upper Middle Watershed in the parlance of the aforementioned report, received an A for its water quality. The ratings are based on detection of E. coli, cynobacteria, and combined sewer overflows. All the good stuff.
Natick’s chunk of the Charles also scored an “A” grade last year, based on 2019 numbers.
In other timely news, the Charles River Watershed Association celebrates the release of its Charles River Flood Model, a planning tool for projecting how flooding might affect the area.
More: Natick can’t win with water these days
Nonstop rain giving South Natick Dam a workout
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