Boston Harbor cleanup nears completion: CLF pushes for swimmable beaches.

THE LONG BATTLE for swimmable beaches in South Boston may finally be over. For more than 20 years, CLF has been fighting to clean up Boston Harbor through a combination of legal advocacy and community organizing. Today the waters are vastly improved. Sadly, there are still days when the beaches in South Boston are closed to swimmers. After heavy storms, the sewer system cannot handle all the sewage and stormwater, resulting in a combined sewer overflow. The pipes overflow, releasing raw sewage and polluted stormwater directly into North Dorchester Bay. In addition, stormwater that bypasses the sewer system, carrying bacteria, oil, trash and toxic heavy metals, also causes beach closings.

After CLF applied pressure through the courts, participated in public hearings and initiated several meetings among the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA), local officials and community groups, MWRA proposed a plan that would essentially eliminate combined sewer overflows and significantly improve stormwater control for North Dorchester Bay. But this plan would have sent the stormwater to Savin Hill Cove, next to the UMass campus. Again CLF brought MWRA to the table with local officials and community members. MWRA finally committed to major reductions in stormwater discharges to Savin Hill Cove, which it previously said were infeasible.