CRWA, State and Local Communities Partner on Major River Restoration Effort in Charles River Lakes District

Charles River Watershed Association (CRWA) and local citizens have obtained funding through the MA Department of Conservation and Recreation’s (DCR) Public-Private Partnership program to conduct large-scale mechanical “harvesting” to remove water chestnuts and other invasive weeds that have long plagued the Charles River Lakes District, a section of river bordered by Waltham, Weston and Newton.  Beginning this summer, the harvesting will target the two-mile river stretch of flatwater between Commonwealth Ave, in Newton and the Woerd Ave. boat launch in Waltham, where roughly 50 acres of weeds compromise the health of the river.  There is a limited window of just a few weeks in August for harvesting before the water chestnut drop their seeds on the riverbed, so the mechanical harvesting will continue in the spring of 2014.  

Through its public private partnership program, DCR agreed to match $25,000 raised by Charles River Watershed Association (CRWA) and Citizens Alliance for NOxious weed Eradication (CANOE), a local group of residents formed to tackle the burgeoning problem, with $50,000 of partnership funds.  The agency recently announced that it will expend an additional $125,000 to fight this expansive infestation at a significant level.  “We are ecstatic that the harvesting is going to happen and we thank DCR for prioritizing this problem,” said Bob Zimmerman, CRWA’s Executive Director. “This shows what a dedicated and determined group of residents working with CRWA and DCR can accomplish.” Said Don Swire of CANOE, “This project is the result of extensive efforts by so many people, our state and city representatives, those who contributed funds for the matching grant, CRWA, CANOE, and the hundreds of volunteers, whose well-publicized efforts have inspired the community and motivated the state to take action. I think at long last we are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.”

For over five years, CRWA has worked to stem the infestation problem and advocated for the state to conduct mechanical harvesting to supplement CRWA’s Invasive Weed Removal Program, which removed 40 tons of water chestnut in 2012 and over 85 tons to date in 2013. CRWA and CANOE developed a long-term strategy for eradicating the invasive plants, worked with local legislators, particularly Representatives Kay Khan, Thomas Stanley and John Lawn and Senator Cynthia Creem, to include aquatic weed removal funding in the state budget, and raised money from area residents, towns and businesses to address the problem.  

“I’m so pleased that my colleagues and I were able to secure $350,000 in the final FY14 Budget for the DCR removal of Invasive Aquatic Species. We are grateful that a portion of this funding will be utilized to eradicate the non-native vegetation which has heavily invaded the Charles River Lakes District in Newton and poses a major threat to the integrity of the Charles River,” said Representative Kay Khan.

The Charles River Lakes District has long been a popular destination for canoeists, kayakers and rowers. However, pollution from stormwater runoff has resulted in an increase of nutrients, primarily phosphorus, in the river. These nutrients, deposited in the slow-moving waters of the Lakes District, have resulted in the proliferation of water chestnut, Eurasian milfoil and fanwort. The problem has become so acute in recent years that navigation and recreation in this historic section of the Charles is now seriously impaired. Additionally, the Lakes District is in danger of becoming a dead zone as these invasive plants alter water chemistry and make it uninhabitable for fish and other aquatic life.