More than you really want to know about Natick, Mass.
The Natick Trails and Forest Stewardship Committee invites the public to Natick Fall Trails Day on Saturday, Oct. 16 from 9am-noon. The goal is to tidy up the trails at Hunnewell Town Forest for all to enjoy.
Pre-register for Natick Fall Trails Day.
More: Those trails aren’t going to tidy themselves: Natick seeks stewards
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Natick is a big winner with the latest state climate change funding, which totaled $21M in grants to dozens of communities.
As a member of the state’s Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) Action Grant program, Natick and its partners are eligible for such monies.
Natick, Ashland and Framingham scored $127K for their Building Relationships and Resilience with MetroWest Environment Justice Neighborhoods effort. The MetroWest Climate Equity Project, as it is also known, seeks to reduce the social, environmental, and economic vulnerabilities in these communities.
Separately, Natick is among 19 communities working with the Charles River Watershed Committee on the Building Resilience Across the Charles River Watershed Phase II program, which netted $233K through the grant initiative. This effort is designed to improve the watershed’s ability to prepare for severe flooding from climate change.
South Natick mansion along Rte. 16
This team recently worked on the Charles River Flood Model, a predictive tool. It’s important for communities to work together since decisions made in one town or city, such as regarding the South Natick Dam, will affect those upstream and downstream.
Speaking of the South Natick Dam, the Charles River Dam Advisory Committee will be meeting online on Sept. 2, from 4-6pm to discuss public input on this issue.
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
As if coping with a flood warning near the overflowing Charles River and addressing elevated PFAS6 levels in its drinking water supplies through a mandatory water ban for nonessential use isn’t enough for Natick.
The town has also passed along a state warning to residents of toxic algae bloom at Lake Cochituate and is spreading the word that E. coli bacteria has been detected at its Elm Bank wells.
The Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) has warned the public not to swim in Lake Cochituate due to the presence of cyanobacteria (blue-green algae bloom) throughout the 635 acre body of water located off of Route 9 and Route 30 in the towns of Natick, Wayland, and Framingham.
The public has been warned not to swim in Lake CochituateBoating and wading are out, too, and pets should be kept away from the popular recreation area. The CDC says that cynobacterial blooms can be deadly for pets. Animals can get very sick and die within hours to days after swallowing cynobacterial toxins. Toxicity of the blooms cannot be determined just by looking at them.
Signs have been posted to warn individuals against contact with the water.
The Massachusetts Department of Public Health will conduct follow-up sampling at the waterbody when there is no longer visual evidence of a bloom.
For more information, please check the MA DPH website page on Harmful Algal Blooms in Freshwater Bodies at: www.mass.gov/info-details/harmful-algae-blooms-in-freshwater-bodies
You may also call the Bureau of Environmental Health Toxicology Program at (617) 624-5757 or the Natick Board of Health at (508) 647-6460 with any questions.
Natick’s Water/Sewer Division issued a drinking water notice (embedded below) to the public that stresses there’s no need to boil or avoid drinking the water. Acting Town Administrator Jamie Errickson gave a heads up about this news at Wednesday’s Select Board meeting about 9 minutes into the Natick Pegasus recording.
This after discovering a sample of untreated water taken at the Elm Bank Wells on July 13 tested positive for E. coli, which yecch, is a fecal indicator. (We blame the ubiquitous Canada Geese, which we blame for everything.)
Natick has turned off the Elm Bank wells, which have been increasingly relied on during the town’s efforts to mitigate elevated levels of PFAS6, aka forever chemicals that were detected earlier this year. Natick recently approved spending $3M to install carbon filters to get rid of the unwanted chemicals, which through longtime exposure can cause health issues.
Natick disinfects the water it distributes to remove any fecal matter contaminants. The town is conducting more testing to make sure it isn’t letting anything sickening through to residents. It is also attempting to get its disinfection system certified by the state.
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