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Group Proposes More Sewage Treatment Plants For Boston

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Deer Island Wastewater Treatment Plant was mandated under a federal court ruling brought under the Clean Water Act. (Steven Senne/AP)
Deer Island Wastewater Treatment Plant was mandated under a federal court ruling brought under the Clean Water Act. (Steven Senne/AP)

A new proposal from the Charles River Watershed Association would create new local water treatment centers in Boston.

For 15 years, Greater Boston's sewage has been processed through the plant at Deer Island, which pipes out clean water into bay. The Deer Island plant is the second largest of its kind in the country.

However, the association says Deer Island's pipeways collect local ground and rain water and send it to the ocean, effectively de-watering the Charles. They say neighborhood centers will help better protect local rivers and offer a new way to turn filth into fuel.

Bob Zimmerman, executive director of the Charles River Watershed Association says similar centers have appeared in New York City inside housing structures that do not have the smell associated with waste water treatment plants.

Guest

Robert Zimmerman, executive director of the Charles River Watershed Association. He tweets @ZimmFacts and @CleanCharles.

More

The Boston Globe: Group Pitches Decentralized Sewage Network

  • "But protecting area rivers is only one of several possible environmental benefits. The effort could also bring more renewable energy into the area and restore now-buried waterways.[Robert] Zimmerman said none of the technology needed to make this happen is new. What is novel, he said, is the use of these technologies to break up a centralized sewer system and pair it with food waste processing."

This segment aired on December 30, 2015.

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