Charles River Drive and Echo Bridge Road Micro-Surfacing Pavement Treatment Project Bids open 1/24/23

Charles River Drive and Echo Bridge Road Micro-Surfacing Pavement Treatment Project

In accordance with MGL c. 30 section 39m, it is the intention of the Town of Franklin to retain the services of a construction firm for the purposes of furnishing and applying a Micro-Surfacing Pavement Treatment on Charles River Drive and Echo Bridge Road in the Town of Franklin.

Additional Information:  Charles River Dr. and Echo Bridge Rd. Micro-Surfacing Pavement Treatment Project

Shared from -> https://www.franklinma.gov/bids

Town of Franklin

The Charles River Watershed Association would like your input to this survey

Charles River Watershed Association (@charlesriver) tweeted Thu, Dec 08, 2022:

Have 5 minutes?? Take our quick survey to help create a climate-resilient Charles River! 

Survey link ->  https://mapc.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_dcHNwEN99ETEGHQ 

Shared from Twitter -> https://twitter.com/charlesriver/status/1600855016377503744

The Charles River Watershed Association would like your input to this survey

Annual Report Of The Charles River Pollution Control District - FY 2021

Note: FY 2021 is last year (July 1, 2020 to June 30, 2021). The report was prepared to cover the business for the FY 2021 period. This year’s report FY 2022 (July 1, 2021 to June 30, 2022) is in preparation now and is normally available for distribution at the polls for the November election. Updated - 08/15/22

During Fiscal Year 2021, the Charles River Pollution Control District’s (District) regional advanced wastewater treatment facility received and treated approximately 1,693 million gallons (4.63 million gallons per day) of raw wastewater, including 9.6 million gallons of septage from the District’s member and customer towns before discharge to the Charles River.

As part of the District’s infiltration and inflow program, the District inspected the Mine Brook Interceptor Subsystem, which included inspecting 99 manholes, and performing closed-circuit television camera (CCTV) and multi-sensor inspections of 28,400 linear feet of pipe for signs of infiltration and inflow. Repair work is scheduled to be completed during FY 2022.

In late 2015, the District entered into a Power Purchase Agreement to receive net-metering credits from a solar array in Carver, Massachusetts. The array has been online since December 2015 and to- date the District has received over $420,000 in net- metering credits.

The District’s Fiscal Year 2022 budget is 1.9% higher than the previous years’ budget. The District’s FY 2022 budget for operations and maintenance is $3,814,850, while the capital projects budget is $2,262,900. Franklin’s share of the operation and maintenance and capital projects budgets are estimated to be $2,103,960 and $1,272,840, respectively.

For more information on the District please check out our website at https://www.charlesriverpcd.org/.

Respectively submitted

Douglas M. Downing, Chairman (Medway) 

David Formato, Vice Chairman (Franklin) 

Mark Cataldo, Clerk (Franklin)

Michael Callahan (Medway) 

Wolfgang Bauer (Franklin)

Charles River Pollution Control District (CRPCD) Officers:

Elizabeth Taglieri, P.E., Executive Director 

John D. Foster, Treasurer

Barbara Maffeo, Executive Secretary

The full Annual Report for 2021 can be found

https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif6896/f/uploads/2021_annual_report.pdf

The collection of Annual Reports can be found online

https://www.franklinma.gov/town-clerk/pages/town-franklin-annual-reports

Annual Report Of The Town of Franklin - FY 2021

"Massachusetts residents should not settle for less than healthy rivers and harbors"

"The cleanup of Boston Harbor is incomplete

Largely unknown to the public, raw sewage is still dumped into the Mystic and Charles rivers, which empty directly into the harbor."

"The cleanup of Boston Harbor is considered one of the great environmental success stories of our time — and deservedly so. It has helped transform the quality of life in the metro Boston area as residents and businesses live, work, and play near the newly cleaned up harbor and the rivers that feed into it.

But sadly, and largely unknown to the public, raw sewage is still dumped into the Mystic and Charles rivers that empty right into the harbor. Depending on the volume of rainfall and snowmelt, up to 500 million gallons of sewage mixed with storm water are discharged into the harbor via the two rivers every year.

These discharges flow from old underground pipe networks known as combined sewer systems, engineering relics that were designed to collect rainwater runoff, domestic sewage, and industrial wastewater in the same pipe leading to a treatment plant. But during periods of heavy rainfall or snowmelt, the wastewater volume can exceed the pipe’s capacity, causing a combined sewer overflow, or CSO, that dumps the polluted contents directly into the rivers."

Continue reading the article (subscription may be required)
https://www.bostonglobe.com/2022/04/02/opinion/cleanup-boston-harbor-is-incomplete/ 

• The Charles River Watershed Association is working on river clean up as well. Visit the Storymap  "A River Interrupted" here ->   https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/62917edcb76c4e10868cbb7a79638282

For more about the CRWA -> https://www.crwa.org/

• The Town of Franklin (ToF) is also involved and recently passed the storm water utility fee (starting in Jan 2023) to help fund that effort and relieve pressure from the operating budget. For more about storm water visit the ToF page ->  https://www.franklinma.gov/stormwater-division

Scientist Scott Smith and actor Mark Ruffalo work in the Charles River in 2014. The actor, in town to film the movie "Spotlight," helped with water testing near an outfall pipe into the river.SUZANNE KREITER/GLOBE STAFF

Charles River Watershed Association: "Let the Rivers Run Free" (video)

#ICYMI Watch the full recording from Thursday (02/24/22) night's webinar "Let the Rivers Run Free" about dam removal & recreation featuring Cameron Salvatore of the #CharlesRiverNavigationProject and Climate Resilience Specialist @RobertKearns!

https://t.co/PcVTDKKvLs  or https://youtu.be/pcqWOZtgaHQ

Visit the Storymap  "A River Interrupted" here -> 

https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/62917edcb76c4e10868cbb7a79638282

For more about the CRWA -> https://www.crwa.org/

Sorry we missed you: How can Franklin Build Climate Resilience? (video)

"So sorry that you missed our presentation last evening "How can Franklin Build Climate Resilience?". You can find a recording of the presentation on our YouTube Channel and slides on our website. 

Additionally I wanted to share our Climate Resilience Toolkit which is located on our website and includes different policy solutions to help increase climate resilience. "

Best,

Robert

--

Robert Kearns
Climate Resilience Specialist
Charles River Watershed Association
41 West St. Suite 800

Boston, MA 02111
t 617.540.5650 x 1075
He, Him, His

www.crwa.org/support

Charles River Watershed Association storymap: "A River Interrupted"

Charles River Watershed Association (CRWA) has put together a storymap, an interactive presentation of text, photos, video, and maps. The storymap explains the impacts of several dams along the Charles River and how removal of these dams could help (1) restore the river to its original flow, (2) allow various fish species to return and thrive in their natural habitat, and (3) potentially mitigate for climate change.

Visit the Storymap  "A River Interrupted" here -> 

https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/62917edcb76c4e10868cbb7a79638282

For more about the CRWA -> https://www.crwa.org/

Charles River storymap: "A River Interrupted"

Recap: Charles River Meadowlands Initiative - 01/24/22 (audio)

 FM #710 = This is the Franklin Matters radio show, number 710 in the series. 

This session of the radio show shares my conversation with Alan Earls, Franklin resident, local historian, and open space advocate as we recap the Charles River Meadowlands Initiative. We recorded this via the Zoom conference bridge Monday, Jan 24, 2022. 

Links in the show notes include the BETA Report on the Meadowlands Initiative as well as many of the links for the reporting shared by Franklin Matters since 2016 as the initiative made progress.

The recording runs about 21 minutes, so let’s listen to this recap of the Charles River Meadowland Initiative audio file -> https://franklin-ma-matters.captivate.fm/episode/fm-710-charles-river-meadowlands-recap-01-24-22

--------------

Home page for the Charles River Meadowlands Initiative -> https://www.charlesrivermeadowlands.org/

BETA Report finally received early 2020

https://www.franklinmatters.org/2020/04/in-news-charles-river-meadowlands-study.html

Conservation Commission Annual Report for 2019 references

https://www.franklinmatters.org/2020/07/franklin-annual-report-2019.html

Info session series in 2019

https://www.franklinmatters.org/2019/05/charles-river-meadowlands-initiative.html

Forum schedule for April 2019

https://www.franklinmatters.org/2019/03/charles-river-meadowlands-initiative.html 

BETA surveyed in 2018

https://www.franklinmatters.org/2018/12/the-goal-is-basically-to-create-few.html

ToF announces kickoff of study with $25K grant

https://www.franklinmatters.org/2018/08/town-of-franklin-kicks-of-study-of.html

Clean up & walk in 2018

https://www.franklinmatters.org/2018/05/charles-river-meadowlands-initiative.html

Review of 2017 activities published in Dec 2017

https://www.franklinmatters.org/2017/12/review-of-meadowlands-initiative-in.html

Oct 2017 hike with 20+ folks

https://www.franklinmatters.org/2017/11/charles-river-meadowlands-hike-recap.html

Charles River Meadowlands meeting scheduled for 2017

https://www.franklinmatters.org/2017/01/charles-river-meadowlands-meeting.html 

Library info session and children’s reading for Ground Hog day in 2017

https://www.franklinmatters.org/2017/12/charles-river-meadowlands-initiative.html

Charles River Meadowlands and #Giving Tuesday

https://www.franklinmatters.org/2016/11/charles-river-meadowlands-givingtuesday.html 

Meeting announcement mid-2016

https://www.franklinmatters.org/2016/07/next-meeting-of-charles-river.html 

Charles River walk Jan 2016

https://www.franklinmatters.org/2017/02/exploring-charles-river-meadowlands.html

--------------

We are now producing this in collaboration with Franklin.TV and Franklin Public Radio (wfpr.fm) or 102.9 on the Franklin area radio dial.  

This podcast is my public service effort for Franklin but we can't do it alone. We can always use your help.

 

How can you help?

• If you can use the information that you find here, please tell your friends and neighbors

• If you don't like something here, please let me know

Through this feedback loop we can continue to make improvements. I thank you for listening.

For additional information, please visit Franklinmatters.org/ or www.franklin.news/

If you have questions or comments you can reach me directly at shersteve @ gmail dot com

The music for the intro and exit was provided by Michael Clark and the group "East of Shirley". The piece is titled "Ernesto, manana"  c. Michael Clark & Tintype Tunes, 2008 and used with their permission.

I hope you enjoy!

------------------

You can also subscribe and listen to Franklin Matters audio on iTunes or your favorite podcast app; search in "podcasts" for "Franklin Matters"

Recap: Charles River Meadowlands Initiative - 01/24/22 (audio)

Charles River Watershed Association acknowledges tour of Franklin for stormwater mitigations

Charles River Watershed Association (@charlesriver) tweeted on Tue, Dec 14, 2021:

TY @TOFranklinMA DPW Director Brutus Cantoreggi + team for tour of #GreenInfrastructure installations including rain gardens, depaving (narrowing roads) + infiltration chambers. 

Cities/towns are leading! #NatureBasedSolutions #ClimateResilience #CleanCharles @massmunicipal 

Photos of tour -> https://t.co/VRREClZwAN

Shared from Twitter: https://twitter.com/charlesriver/status/1470793683851223052

Charles River Watershed Association acknowledges tour of Franklin for stormwater mitigations

Town of Franklin, MA: Charles River Flood Model released

The Town of Franklin, in partnership with the Charles River Watershed Association (CRWA) and 14 other communities in the upper and middle Charles River watershed, is excited to announce the release of the Charles River Flood Model (CRFM). https://t.co/kv0FnrCMZu

Shared from Twitter:
https://twitter.com/TOFranklinMA/status/1420403438169513987

Press release document

https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif6896/f/news/crfm_press_release.pdf

The Town of Franklin, in partnership with the Charles River Watershed Association (CRWA) and 14 other communities in the upper and middle Charles River watershed, is excited to announce the release of the Charles River Flood Model (CRFM). Funded by the MA Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs FY21 MVP Action Grant Program, and developed by Weston & Sampson, this flood model can help communities protect vulnerable populations and property from flooding.

The Charles River Flood Model visualizes the impacts of increasingly severe storm events that will become more common with climate change, then shows what happens if we invest in nature-based solutions such as land conservation, green stormwater infrastructure, and/or reducing impervious surfaces.

This model comes at an important time. Our region has seen approximately 9.5” of rain so far this month, an astounding 9” more than average for early July. Following Tropical Storm Elsa and subsequent rains; the Charles River remained above flood stage in Dover from July 12th to 17th according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

The Charles River Flood Model found that without intervention, a projected 2070 100-year storm will impact more than 50 critical facilities and flood up to 12,500 acres of land within the watershed. This exceeds the estimated 10,400 acres of flooding during the severe rains of March 2010, which is the most recent significant flooding event caused by rainfall to affect the region. These intense rain events will put many residents at risk, especially vulnerable populations such as low-income residents, the elderly, and those who suffer from physical or mental illness.

 

The model was also used to test the impact of developing land that is currently undeveloped but vulnerable to future development. Developing half of the watershed’s remaining undeveloped and unprotected land without flood control measures would result in a 33% increase in flooded area in the present day 10-yr storm, and a 20% increase in flooded area in the 2070 10-yr storm. Allowing undeveloped land to be developed without considerable flood protection will cause downstream flooding and directly impact vulnerable residents.

“CRWA is excited to have led this regional effort,” said Julie Wood, deputy director with the Charles River Watershed Association. “This is a critical step to taking action as a region to effectively mitigate the expected flooding impacts of climate change. The model provides valuable information that will allow communities to make informed decisions about policy changes and on the ground interventions”.

Investing in nature-based solutions brings other important co-benefits as well, including improvements in water quality in the Charles River, reduced heat island effect, cleaner air, increased biodiversity, and more.

Flooding does not follow political boundaries, and this tool will help create stronger regional collaboration between communities in the watershed to better understand and address flooding due to climate change. Participating communities include Arlington, Dedham, Franklin, Holliston, Medway, Millis, Natick, Needham, Newton, Norfolk, Sherborn, Watertown, Wellesley, Weston, and Wrentham.

Charles River Watershed Association uses science, advocacy, and law to promote resilient communities and a healthy river ecosystem. CRWA was formed in 1965 in response to public concern about the declining condition of the Charles River. Since its earliest days of advocacy, CRWA has figured prominently in major clean-up and watershed protection efforts that have dramatically improved the health of the Charles.

Contacts:

Julie Wood Deputy Director

Charles River Watershed Association 617-356-5060

jwood@crwa.org

Julia Hopkins

Communications and Outreach Manager Charles River Watershed Association 781-788-0007

jhopkins@crwa.org

Storm water modeling ->   https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/5e214750da174c46bf6a8b8da12630e9

https://www.franklinma.gov/conservation/news/charles-river-flood-model

Charles River Flood Model released

Franklin Annual Report - 2020: Charles River Pollution Control District

ANNUAL REPORT OF THE CHARLES RIVER POLLUTION CONTROL DISTRICT

During Fiscal Year 2020, the Charles River Pollution Control District’s (District) regional advanced wastewater treatment facility received and treated approximately 1,730 million gallons (4.74 million gallons per day) of raw wastewater, including 9.2 million gallons of septage from the District’s member and customer towns before discharge to the Charles River.

As part of the District’s infiltration and inflow program, the District will be inspecting the Mine Brook Interceptor Subsystem. The District will be inspecting 99 manholes, and performing closed-circuit television camera (CCTV) and multi-sensor inspections of 28,400 linear feet of pipe for signs of infiltration and inflow. This work is to be completed during FY 2021.

In late 2015, the District entered into a Power Purchase Agreement to receive net-metering credits from a solar array in Carver, Massachusetts. The array has been online since December 2015 and to-date the District has received over $350,000 in net-metering credits.

The District’s Fiscal Year 2021 budget is 1.9% lower than the previous years’ budget. The District’s FY 2021 budget for operations and maintenance is $3,743,860, while the capital projects budget is $2,217,930. Franklin’s share of the operation and maintenance and capital projects budgets are estimated to be $2,186,750 and $1,286,440, respectively.

more information on the District please check out our website at https://www.charlesriverpcd.org/.

submitted
Douglas M. Downing, Chairman (Medway) 

David Formato, Vice Chairman (Franklin) 

Mark Cataldo, Clerk (Franklin)
Michael Callahan (Medway) 

Richard Johnson (Franklin)

CRPCD Officers:
Elizabeth Taglieri, P.E., Executive Director 
John D. Foster, Treasurer
Barbara Maffeo, Executive Secretary 

The full Annual Report for 2020 can be found online
https://www.franklinma.gov/town-clerk/files/town-franklin-annual-report-2020

Prior Annual Reports can be found online

https://www.franklinma.gov/town-clerk/pages/annual-reports

Franklin Annual Report - 2020: Charles River Pollution Control District

Please help us include non-english speaking residents on this project!

Dear Friend,

We want to thank you for your involvement in the Charles River Watershed Association's project: Building Resilience in the Charles River Watershed. After hosting our initial webinar and several smaller community meetings we are happy to announce that we have some multilingual materials available! Please help us share this survey with any groups that may not have been able to participate due to language barriers.

Building Resilience in the Charles River Watershed

The Charles River Watershed Association has created a flood monitoring tool that will show flooding scenarios in the Charles River Watershed depending on different time periods, rainfall increases, and potential green infrastructure solutions. Members of the Watershed area can use the tool to predict and implement the best ways to respond to flooding due to our changing climate. 

If you would like to learn more about the project, watch the video linked below, Or refer to the attached informational flyer. Please take time to fill out this survey and share it with fellow watershed residents. Data that will be used to determine what flooding scenarios and nature-based solutions will be tested with the tool.

 Closed captioning on the video, the attached document, and the survey can be found in LANGUAGES.

Feedback Survey 

• Learn more about the project by watching this video (https://youtu.be/VlaV2256bKg)

• CC available in multiple languages

Communities Responding to Extreme Weather (CREW)or CREW, is a 501c3 non-profit devoted to building up grassroots resilience in communities by engaging networks of local leaders through education, service, and planning. We have teamed up with the Charles River Watershed Association to help spread the word about this important project.

Thanks so much for your time,

Hola,

Me llamo Anna, y soy una pasante por CREW (Communities Responding to Extreme Weather). Estamos trabajando con CRWA (Charles River Watershed Association) en un proyecto para monitor la inundación en la Cuenca de Río Charles. 

Para el proyecto, queremos respuestas e información de los residentes de la cuenca del Río Charles. Favor de tomar unos minutos para completar ESTA ENCUESTA. También, pedimos que comparta la encuesta y el volante de información con su comunidad. Su voz y opinión son muy importantes! 

Gracias por su tiempo,

Anna

Encuesta

Volante de Información

Olá,

Esperamos que este e-mail encontre você bem. Por favor, desculpe o google tradutor. Comunidades que respondem a condições climáticas extremas ou EQUIPE. está trabalhando com a CRWA (Charles River Watershed Association) em um projeto de monitoramento de enchentes na Bacia do Rio Charles.

Para o projeto, queremos respostas e informações dos moradores da bacia do rio Charles. Reserve alguns minutos para concluir ESTA PESQUISA. Além disso, pedimos que você compartilhe a pesquisa e o folheto informativo com sua comunidade. Sua voz e opinião são muito importantes!

Obrigado pelo seu tempo,

Inquérito português

 

Folheto Informativo

你好，

我们希望这封电子邮件对您有帮助。请原谅Google翻译。响应极端天气或CREW的社区。正在与查尔斯河流域协会（CRWA）一起在查尔斯河流域进行洪水监控项目。

对于该项目，我们需要查尔斯河流域居民的答案和信息。请花几分钟完成此调查。另外，我们要求您与社区共享调查和信息单张。您的声音和意见非常重要！

中文调查

 

信息传单

 

谢谢你的时间，

--

Ethan Parker McDonough

He/Him/His

Special Project Coordinator at C.R.E.W

University of New Hampshire

ethan@climatecrew.org

(207)475-2428

Video link = https://youtu.be/VlaV2256bKg

Communities Responding to Extreme Weather (CREW): Community Meeting for Franklin Residents - Apr 7

Building Resilience Across the Watershed

The Charles River Watershed Association has created a flood monitoring tool that shows flooding scenarios and the impacts of potential green infrastructure solutions along the Charles. This will equip watershed communities with the best information on community-specific impacts of climate change, helping to guide local investment, regulatory changes and predict the best ways to respond to flooding. 

We want to hear from you!

Our second Zoom discussion will focus on the tool's relevance to the upper parts of the Watershed, including Holliston, Milford, Franklin, Ashland, Hopkinton, Sherborn, Wrentham, Foxborough, Millis, Medway, Bellingham, Norfolk, and Hopedale.  Please join us and give input about your own climate-related stressors, your opinions about changing infrastructure, and your hopes for building climate resilience in your community! Share this email with your fellow residents, this is a conversation for everyone!

RSVP HERE!

 (https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAqfuiqqj0pGN0plGlTaaIdHZiAImKBNFhs) 

• Wednesday, April 7th from 6:30-7:30 PM  

• Facebook Event Page

• Watch our first webinar again here to learn more about this project

• Fill this Feedback Survey if you belong to the Charles River Watershed

• Building Resilience across the Watershed Offical Webpage

• For further questions contact: anna@climatecrew.org

Community Meeting for Franklin Residents - Apr 7

Communities Responding to Extreme Weather (CREW) or CREW, is a 501c3 non-profit devoted to building up grassroots resilience in communities by engaging networks of local leaders through education, service, and planning. CREW has teamed up with the Charles River Watershed Association to spread the word about an upcoming project on the Charles. We hope to engage watershed community members around this project so we can incorporate their voices into this project.

Thank you for reading, and we hope to see you there!