Reports: Executive Director’s Reports

September 25, 2008

  1. DCR - The recharge system to be installed as part of the interim repair project at the Storrow Drive Tunnel is expected to be connected to the recharge galleries on Back Street early this fall. There is a public meeting on Storrow Drive this evening at which I hope to get additional information.
  2. MTA - The MTA has done a partial inspection of the tunnel section between Berkeley and Clarendon Streets and found dry weather flow coming from a reinforced concrete pipe section; they anticipate that the repair will be straightforward and will schedule it shortly. They will be inspecting the drain line flowing from the Prudential tunnel eastward shortly for possible dry weather flow. Repair work in the North End is nearing completion.
  3. MBTA - I met with the T to discuss in more detail their plans for Silver Line Phase III and information that they will be preparing to update the public on groundwater related issues. We also discussed the potential for recharging the seepage water that would otherwise be discharged to the BWSC sewer system.
  4. BWSC - BWSC has reinspected the repairs at the manhole at Beacon and Dartmouth Streets, and they appear to be holding. However, groundwater readings taken this month still did not show improvement. BWSC plans a television inspection of their lines in the area to look for a problem.
  5. Funding - We have received our FY09 funding from the City, including the inflation adjustment from FY08.
  6. Bay Village - At his request, Christian and I met with Lenny Snyderman who has installed one of the first recharge systems in Bay Village and wanted to show us how it works.
  7. GCOD - We continue to have excellent compliance with the GCOD requirements. At almost every session of the Board of Appeals, several new recharge systems are mandated. There have now been 107 recharge systems approved by BWSC. The most systems are in the South End, with the largest overall amount of recharge, taking into account the size of the systems, located in the Fenway.
  8. Website - Traffic at the website has been uneven in September, although hits are the highest since the Spring. We posted an interesting article from Structure magazine’s December 2007 issue on groundwater and wooden pilings (it’s posted under news from 2007).
  9. Meetings - I attended scoping sessions on the Parcel 24 air rights project in Chinatown and the Parcel 7 air rights project near Kenmore Square. I also met with Boston Properties to iron out some of the groundwater issues on the Prudential Center expansion projects on Boylston and Exeter Streets. I discussed the GCOD process with the Condo Owners Group of the Neighborhood Association of the Back Bay. I also met with staffers from the Boston Preservation Alliance and Historic Boston who are working on a new program for preservation related neighborhood seminars and wanted to better understand the groundwater issue.
  10. Comment Letters - I filed comment letters on projects at Parcel 7 and Wheelock College. All are posted on our website or will be shortly.