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dyqik t1_j1hu5ck wrote

Heavily diluted by rain water.

I wouldn't drink it, but skin contact would not be an issue.

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SaveTheAlewifeBrook OP t1_j1i3ppm wrote

We think that the pollutants in the sediment come from local industry and from the sewage pollution.

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Hyperbowleeeeeeeeeee t1_j1hzizp wrote

Umm, are we drinking it? Isn't Fresh Pond one of the reservoirs and right next to there?

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SheeEttin t1_j1ibqut wrote

It's treated and filtered before being used as drinking water. When Cambridge switched to MWRA water a while back, it was because they were installing a new filtration system.

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SaveTheAlewifeBrook OP t1_j1i3znj wrote

Alewife Brook was hydrologically connected to Fresh Pond. In fact, the Alewife Brook used to be a substantial river before that connection was severed. Some people believe the connection is still there. But it would take a large storm event for the Alewife water to get into Fresh Pond.

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wittgensteins-boat t1_j1jq7rq wrote

Fresh pond is upstream.

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SaveTheAlewifeBrook OP t1_j1lpjcw wrote

Yes, Fresh Pond is upstream of the Alewife Brook. And during big flood events, the direction of the brook reverses, sending it’s contaminated water upstream. The storm surge flood maps of future years are frightening.

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wittgensteins-boat t1_j1m5m11 wrote

It is definitely interesting that the elevation of Alewife Brook is less than 10 feet above sea level.

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ret_diy t1_j23ohq1 wrote

I don't think it reverses flow during typical flood events -- only if the Amelia Earhart dam in Everett is overtopped by rising sea level / storm surge, which would make the Mystic River flow in reverse.

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SaveTheAlewifeBrook OP t1_j23st3u wrote

I’ve seen the Alewife reverse direction during major storm events, with no breach at the Amelia Earhart Dam. What happens is the Mystic River rises above the height of the Alewife and then tailwater from the Mystic fills the Alewife Brook and it reverses direction. For reference, this is documented in the Tri-Community Working Group Final Report from 2005. This statement is not meant to underplay the seriousness of a breach of the dam. But it’s important to understand how slow the Alewife Basin is and that the Alewife does reverse direction in large storms.

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