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Natick holding town-wide beaver discussion

March 4, 2022 by Bob Brown Leave a Comment

Beavers are really bringing people together in Natick. Three town groups—Natick’s Conservation Commission, Trails and Forest Stewardship Committee, and Open Space Advisory Committee—will unite for a town-wide beaver discussion on Wednesday, March 9 at 7pm

Update (3/11/22): Here’s the Natick Pegasus recording of the meeting:

“The impetus for the discussion is the impact beavers are having on the trails at Town Forest specifically,” says Claire Rundelli, Planner Conservation Agent, Natick Community and Economic Development. “The beaver dam within Little Jennings pond has caused such a backup of water it has flooded out a number of trail sections, including a portion of the main trail in Town Forest. It has also resulted in a bridge needing to be removed, as the high water levels had caused water to flow over the bridge which would have damaged the wood in the long-run if left in place.”

The discussion will take place in a public meeting due to the “sensitive nature of the possible solutions,” she says.

An expert in beaver management from Beaver Solutions is scheduled to present.

Solutions such as the flow devices used at Pickerel Pond and elsewhere locally, aren’t a good fit at the Town Forest. Other options would be to concede to the beavers and reroute the trails, or to trap the animals and put them down humanely (state law doesn’t allow relocating them).

“The Conservation Commission felt it was important to have the discussion in a way that the public could join in and offer opinions, as it is a big decision. We’ve included the Trails and Forest Stewardship and Open Space Advisory Committees to ensure that all relevant Town bodies are having a voice in the discussion as well,” Rundelli says.

Discussing the long-term viability of any solution is important given the number of dams in town, and due to considerations of whether some solutions would be impractical over time. Just because you get rid of today’s beavers doesn’t mean others won’t follow.

If you want to study up before zooming into the meeting, here’s a bunch of background material.

pickerel pond trail winter

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Filed Under: Animals, Environment, Government

Natick asks residents to take survey about future Charles River projects

February 25, 2022 by Admin Leave a Comment

Natick has teamed up with 19 other communities and the Charles River Watershed Association to create the first ever Charles River Watershed Flood Model. The model projects future flooding conditions within the watershed. It also informs the town how future flooding would change if certain mitigation projects were implemented—also know as “nature-based solutions”—such as preserving open space or reducing impervious surfaces (parking lots).

South Natick dam/spillway

The public’s input on such projects is requested via a 5-minute survey, open through March 1, 2022.

Filed Under: Environment

Natick Select Board to get dam update

February 23, 2022 by Bob Brown 4 Comments

A committee leading Natick’s examination of what actions to take regarding the future of the South Natick Dam will share a report with the Select Board on Wednesday about what’s been done so far and what the timeline looks like over the next few months.

The Charles River Dam Advisory Committee, formed about a year ago and consisting of town officials as well as interested members of the general public, plans to make a recommendation regarding the 1934 dam in August.

The town has been engaged with the public and environmental experts in a seemingly nonstop series of meetings, site visits, and surveys over the past year. They’re trying to figure out whether the iconic spillway (aka, waterfall) needs to be removed to protect the town from liability if it were to fail, and if it should be removed to return the river to a more natural state. Sure, it probably won’t be as nice a place for wedding pictures, but couples can always go over to other picturesque spots in town like the… Golden Triangle.

South Natick dam, winter 2022

 

Those giant trees atop the earthen dam next to the spillway snuck up on the town over the years, and after receiving multiple negative reports from the state about the dam, Natick readied in 2019 to repair the structure after Town Meeting appropriated funds. But in 2020 the town was prompted by local environmental groups and members of the public to look into whether spillway removal might be cheaper for Natick, better for the environment, and provide new recreational opportunities.

The town did look into whether it might be possible to keep the trees atop the dam under any repair scenario, and was told “Nope” by the state’s Office of Dam Safety.

The state’s Division of Ecological Restoration has issued a grant to the town to help it answer some of its remaining questions, including the extent of sediment movement that could affect downriver communities more than Natick (a crew plans to hit the Charles on March 10 to do its surveying—weather and river conditions pending). Curious minds also wonder about a sort of consolation prize for spillway lovers—recreating the sound of falling water via a riffle.

Serious analysis of feedback and data is planned for the next few months, followed by some intense community consultation, and then decision making.

 

Download (PDF, 1.79MB)

Filed Under: Environment, Government

Charles River Dam Advisory Committee reconvenes this week

January 24, 2022 by Bob Brown Leave a Comment

Natick’s Charles River Dam Advisory Committee will be meeting next online on Tuesday, Jan. 25, from 4-6:30pm via Zoom.

The agenda will focus on recreation opportunities and features that would be desirable at the current dam site. Discussion will also include key questions, including alternative repair methodologies.

Any member of the public who wishes to submit written comments to the Advisory Committee may submit those via mosthues@cbi.org by 10am on Jan. 25. There will also be a brief public comment period during the meeting.

The 1934 dam has received a series of less-than-stellar inspection grades in recent years and the town has finally decided it better do something about this since it owns the dam. As a high hazard structure that impounds about 160 million gallons of water, the dam would do some real damage to its surroundings if it fails. Town Meeting in 2019 approved $1.25M in funds to fix the dam, but since then the prospect of just getting rid of it has been been entertained.

south natick dam log


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Filed Under: Environment, Government

Natick closer to rolling out heavy anti-PFAS artillery

January 19, 2022 by Bob Brown Leave a Comment

Those traveling along Rte. 9 and on the Cochituate Rail Trail for now have an impressive new industrial sight to behold: Hulking white filters designed to put their granulated activated carbon up against the nastiest forever chemicals in Natick’s public water supply.

Natick discovered elevated levels of Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in the town’s drinking water during the process of getting a new well online in 2020. Since then the town has been taking actions, including a water ban and tapping wells usually off limits at certain times, to mitigate the problem.

The filters, located at the Springvale Water Treatment Plant, should be in action by late February according to a town update on PFAS.

PFAS filters on Rte 9 DPW

Supply chain issues delayed a hoped-for November or December launch. The filters, from an outfit called TIGG, will soon be masked within a metal building, then some piping and electrical work will need to be done to get them online.

The filters, funded through a $3M capital appropriation at Spring Town Meeting and emergency funding through the state, are designed to extract PFAS from 2 million gallons of water a day and allow the plant to pump out 4 million gallons of water by mixing in other clean water.

Natick has also begun researching the cause of PFAS in the water, and neighboring Wellesley is reviewing a proposal to do likewise, with plans to share findings.


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Filed Under: Environment, Government

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