Environment Archives - Page 3 of 9

Natick challenges you to install solar panels, heat pumps

June 17, 2021 by Admin Leave a Comment

Natick has joined forces with Ashland, Framingham, and Holliston in hopes of encouraging residents and small businesses to install solar panels and switch to air-source or ground-source heat pumps for heating and cooling.

The MetroWest Solar + Clean Heat Challenge offers no-cost clean energy assessments and discounted pricing on the gear from vetted vendors. The towns hope that residents and businesses will buy in and talk it up to neighbors.

Installers will pitch their wares and answer questions during a June 17 webinar from 7-8pm.

The offers are good through year-end.

For more information about the program and the technologies, visit MetroWestCleanEnergy.com or contact metrowestcleanenergy@gmail.com. Natick residents and small businesses can also contact Natick Sustainability Director Jillian Wilson Martin regarding the program or volunteer opportunities at jwmartin@natickma.org.

Natick logwatch 2021: That didn’t last long

June 1, 2021 by Bob Brown Leave a Comment

Alas, the latest Natick logwatch at South Natick Dam is over before it really ever got any momentum.

We were alerted to the most recent log to perch atop the South Natick Dam on May 24, and just shy of a week later, the log is gone (or “dislogged” as our source in the field relays).

We didn’t have a good feeling about this scrawny number from the start, and figured its fate might be sealed with this long weekend’s never-ending rain.

Sure enough, it is no doubt floating somewhere in the Charles River now, no match for last year’s epic logwatch that latest from winter to June.

Before:

After:

logwatch off south natick dam — Nothing to see here

While this episode of logwatch was disappointing, if there’s one thing we’ve learned from tracking the dam it is that there will be another log to watch soon enough…

Ask about Advertising on Natick Report.

Subscribe to our Natick Report daily email

For those of you in Natick who just can’t get enough PFAS

May 29, 2021 by Bob Brown Leave a Comment

Who says PFAS in the water is a dry subject? The Natick Department of Public Works and friends this past week dove deep into the matter of elevated levels of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in the town’s drinking water (see embedded video via Natick Pegasus).

The topic has become prominent in town due to safety concerns and now a ban on non-essential outdoor water use.

Natick has gotten out in front on this issue—it isn’t shy about reminding you just how proactive it is. The reason Natick got into this early is because it was following its well replacement program last year and was required to test for PFAS. The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection put in place tough standards in October of last year that included requiring communities on a rolling basis to start testing for PFAS, also known as “forever chemicals” because they stick around in the earth and your bodies…pretty much forever.

DPW Director Jeremy Marsette has pointed out that Natick’s water isn’t necessarily getting worse, but testing has become better over time at detecting PFAS.

The PFAS forum includes overviews of the toxic chemical situation, but also a good summary of how the heck water gets around Natick and into your home or business in the first place. Marsette also outlined the many fronts, from operational moves to capital investments, the town is working on to address the PFAS issue.

One good thing about Natick realizing its elevated levels early is that it’s toward the front of the line in ordering carbon filters designed to clean up water. The demand for these is rising, and will only increase as more communities are required to test and find out they’re dealing with unwanted levels of PFAS, too. Natick hopes to have its filters in place by the fall.

In the meantime, Natick has been increasing its use of water with appropriate PFAS levels from wells at Elm Bank it usually doesn’t use at this time of year. One downside of using this source, however, is that there are more restrictions tied to doing so, and thus the non-essential use ban.

The town and state don’t know yet what the source of PFAS might be in Natick, and are initially more focused on getting treatment systems in place. Once that’s sorted out, investigations will begin to discover possible sources. “That is very much an active, ongoing effort,” Marsette assured.

Ask about Advertising on Natick Report.

Subscribe to our Natick Report daily email

The glorious return of South Natick dam’s Logwatch!

May 24, 2021 by Bob Brown 4 Comments

Natick officials have laid out 2 options for the fate of the South Natick dam: Fix it or ditch it. Town officials have expressed empathy regarding the possible loss of a Natick landmark, though can’t hide their salivating over saving a bundle and getting rid of a potential legal headache by breaching it.

In all the town’s public info sessions and formal presentations at government meetings, however, I’ve not heard a peep about the value of dam log watching and how that might play into Natick’s decision.

Last year, a log survived atop and on the side of the spillway (aka, waterfall) from winter until June. The Logwatch brought the community together in an organic way during the toughest of pandemic times, unlike so many of the virtual events foisted upon us in the name of keeping us connected. I swear, next to the vaccines, it was Natick’s most important COVID-19 antidote.

This 8th Wonder of the World was real. The phenomenon inspired true crowdsourcing. Those passing by on their essential-only errands shared photos with the rest of us adhering to the state’s stay-at-home advisory. The beautiful tapestry of dam good puns inspired by Logwatch offered residents true salvation.

We’re excited to report that South Natick dam Logwatch ’21 has begun. Could this even be Day 1? According to our investigation, it wasn’t there for sure on May 15, when we ran a series of spring pics from the area. But as this photo shared by a Natick Report reader shows, it’s there now. I swung by at dusk and saw it for myself, and think I may have shed a tear of joy (unless that was just the pollen doing its thing to my eyes again).

From the looks of it, this log doesn’t appear to be as substantial as those of years past, and there’s no ice to lock it in place as during the winter of 2019/2020. But let’s see how it performs. You can’t always judge a log by its bark.

The days of logwatches could truly be numbered if the dam and spillway are obliterated in the name of environmental improvement that will presumably set the fish free.

Shadwatch or Carpwatch just don’t have the same ring.

More: Have we rescued a piece of South Natick’s red footbridge?

Ask about Advertising on Natick Report.

Subscribe to our Natick Report daily email

Trickle-down effect: Contaminated drinking water leads Natick to ban non-essential outdoor watering

May 21, 2021 by Bob Brown 2 Comments

The Town of Natick, which is in the midst of addressing elevated levels of Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in its drinking water, has now declared a ban on non-essential outdoor watering. The town has been forced to do this by the state’s Department of Environmental Protection.

Natick has turned off wells with elevated levels of these so-called “forever chemicals,” which can have harmful effects on people and the environment over time. In order to maintain its water supply in light of the contamination situation, as well as general drought conditions, the town is putting in place the ban that it says could last anywhere from 1 to 6 months.

Natick is getting plenty of company in addressing PFAS, and the state just announced $2M in grants to help communities with this issue (that’s not going to go far). Wellesley and other communities have been watching Natick as they formulate their plans.

“The mandatory non-essential outdoor water use ban will limit daily demand on the Natick water system to minimize PFAS exposure and ensure adequate water is available to meet the public health and safety needs of the Town. This measure will assist in maintaining water levels in the storage tanks for fire protection and normal consumption use,” according to the town.

So no in-ground irrigation/sprinklers or even garden hoses with attached sprinklers.

Here’s what you can use outdoor watering for, between the hours of 5pm and 9am:

For health or safety reasons;
By regulation;
For the production of food and fiber; (yeah, yeah, I eat those dandelions…)
For the maintenance of livestock;
To meet the core functions of a business (for example, irrigation by golf courses as necessary to maintain tees and greens, and limited fairway watering,
Irrigation by plant nurseries;
Agricultural operations as necessary to maintain stock or establish new plantings,
Wash equipment to prevent damage and/or maintain performance,
Pest management

Ask about Advertising on Natick Report.

Subscribe to our Natick Report daily email