Muddy River Case Study
[Abstract]
AN ANALYTICAL REPORT ON THE RESTORATION
OF THE M UDDY RIVER
Adam Awad, Ali Jean-Pierre, Phillip Nguyen, Patrick O’Grady, Isabel Reinhold, Daniel Roberts,
Annalise Van Even, Thomas Worthy
1. Introduction
The Muddy River a river that is part of
the Emerald Necklace park system which runs
through various parts of Boston and was
originally designed by architect Frederick Law
Olmsted in 1879 through 1880. The Muddy River
is one of the two streams that empties into Back
Bay and was essential to Olmsted’s dream of
creating a continuous park. This continuous park
(later known as part of the Emerald Necklace,
was set to be put partly up the valley of the
Muddy River. The river is actually partly manmade because Olmsted originally had part of it
sculpted from a former marshland but is also
partly natural. The purpose of the park system
being continuous was both for the sake of being
aesthetically pleasing to the eye while keeping it
looking natural and preserving the natural
wildlife of the area.1
In the year 1996, the Muddy River was
flooded by heavy rain. Despite plans being
proposed about the restoration of the river
beginning in the early 1980s, the plans were not
taken seriously and were not really pushed until
the flood happened. The flood resulted in the
shutting down of the green line of the MBTA.2
The objectives of the Muddy River
Restoration Project are to combat flooding,
better the water quality, rehabilitate the aquatic
1
"Boston's Emerald Necklace FrederickLawOlmsted.com." Boston's Emerald
Necklace - FrederickLawOlmsted.com. N.p., n.d.
Web. 10 June 2013.
http://www.fredericklawolmsted.com/boston.html
2
“Muddy River Restoration Begins” .
www.boston.com,
http://www.boston.com/yourtown/news/fenwaykenmore/2012/10/muddy_river_restoration_begin
s.html. N.p., Web. 10 June 2013.
and riparian habitats, and restore the landscape
and resources. The area is 3.5 miles long and
encompasses parts of Boston, Brookline, and
Newton. The river’s headwaters is Jamaica Pond
and it flows through Ward’s Pond, Willow Pond,
and Leverett Pond. The river flows under route
9, and it flows under Justine Mee Liff Park,
formerly a sears parking lot. It flows through
pipes under the park. The restrictions to the
river will be removed so flooding does not
damage nearby property and infrastructure, as it
did in 1996. Existing restrictions include invasive
vegetation, sediment build up in the river bed,
and the forcing of the water into undersized
pipes.
Due to a dam at the Charles River basin,
the flow of the Muddy River has severely
diminished and sediment has built up in the
water. The river has been filled in at Brookline
Ave. and the fens bridge. In addition Phragmites
reeds have invaded the shore and shallow
waters, further restricting flow. To combat these
issues the river will be drudged of sediment,
portions of the river will be “day lighted” and
the pipes widened, and the invasive species will
also be removed. Investigations have revealed
that sewage from many buildings had been
illegally drained into the river, and this has been
stopped. Brookline and Boston have looked into
further improving water quality, by increasing
street sweeping and better maintaining the
river’s catch basins. These actions will lead to a
healthier habitat as harmful species are
removed and original plants are restored. The
Muddy River Case Study
[Abstract]
project is restoring the local and historic
landscapes and resources.3
The Emerald Necklace Conservancy was
founded in 1998 as “a private non-profit
stewardship organization” whose purpose was
“to maintain, restore and to protect the parks of
the Emerald Necklace”.4The Conservancy is
currently governed by a board of directors that
is represented by both -the private and public
sectors to create diversity in which to carry out
its purpose. With its public partners, the Boston
Parks & Recreation Department, Brookline Parks
and Open Space and the Massachusetts
Department of Conservation and Recreation, the
Conservancy works to preserve the parks for the
public to enjoy and to continue to uphold
Olmsted’s dreams and ideals.
Through numerous meetings, programs
and projects, the Conservancy aims to create a
continuously enriching experience for those who
visit, as well as to restore and renew the parks to
their full capacity. The Emerald Necklace spans
about 1,100 acres all the way from Brookline to
Dorchester and pretty much everywhere in
between. In these parks and waterways they
provide services to youths, schools and other
volunteer organizations so that younger
generations can learn about the importance of
the environment and become more involved in
the community.5
Varying pH levels affects aquatic life and
ecosystem health if and only if, the pH level is
anything lower than 6 or higher than 8 (on the
pH scale). Anything from 6-8 is considered
normal or healthy. If in fact the pH is not within
the 6-8 range, aquatic life, such as fish, begin to
disappear due to increased acidity interfering
with fish’ reproductive cycles. Increased acidity
can also be as damaging as killing fish directly.
Limestone acts as a buffer in freshwater. If the
quantities of buffering are low, then it is a result
of “acid shock”, which is caused by runoff of
high amounts of acidic water—coming from
snow, or heavy rains. It is most common to
experience acidic water due to acid rain. The
lakes and streams become acidic when the
water itself and the surrounding soil cannot
buffer it enough to neutralize. The whole
ecosystem of freshwater areas are all affected
due to the fact that the organism in the
ecosystem are interdependent (all affect each
other). 6
Temperature is defined as the degree or
intensity of heat present in a substance or
object. Temperature is vital to the health of any
riparian ecosystem. Temperature affects
aquatic life in the ecosystem of rivers in a variety
of ways. An increase or decrease in
temperature impacts the metabolism and
growth of aquatic organisms, the rate of
photosynthesis, the solubility of oxygen, and the
immune systems of aquatic organisms. 7 For
example, say a river temperature is higher than
normal. The higher temperature will cause the
organisms to grow and die faster as well as
decrease the solubility of oxygen.8 The low
dissolved oxygen stall the decomposing process
of dead organisms. This would inevitably stop
the nutrient cycle of the river.
6
3
"Who We Are." The Emerald Necklace
Conservancy RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 June 2013.
http://www.emeraldnecklace.org/who-we-are/
3
4
"Who We Are." The Emerald Necklace
Conservancy RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 June 2013.
http://www.emeraldnecklace.org/who-we-are/
4
5
"Who We Are." The Emerald Necklace
Conservancy RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 June 2013.
http://www.emeraldnecklace.org/who-we-are/
"Effects of Acid Rain - Surface Waters and
Aquatic Animals." EPA. Environmental
Protection Agency, n.d. Web. 11 June 2013.
http://www.epa.gov/acidrain/effects/surface_water
.html
7
"Water Quality." Water Quality. N.p., n.d. Web.
10 June 2013 http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/k12/fenlewis/Waterquality.html
7
8
"Water What-ifs." Science Junction. N.p., n.d.
Web. 10 June 2013.
http://www.ncsu.edu/sciencejunction/depot/experi
ments/water/lessons/temp/
Muddy River Case Study
[Abstract]
Indian River, Newbury Port MA, 2.9
"Google Maps." Google Maps. N.p., n.d. eb. 11
June 2013.
"Muddy River, Boston" Google Maps. Web. 11 June 2013.
Muddy River Case Study
[Abstract]
2. Materials
● iPads and iPad Minis
● SPARKvue iOS application
● PASCO Probeware: Temperature probe,
pH probe & pH buffer 7, dissolved
oxygen probe
● Compatible Airlink bluetooth connectors
● Muddy River Map
3. Procedure
1. Obtain materials and make sure that all
electronics are sufficiently charged.
2. Sync a probe with an iPad.
3. Go to a location on the Muddy River.
4. Submerge the tip of the probe in the
river, begin the experiment, and wait
about one minute.
5. Stop the reading, remove the probe
from the water and move to a different
location.
6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 at two additional
locations.
7. Organize data into a file on Microsoft
Excel and analyze.
"Muddy River, Boston" Google Maps. Web. 11 June 2013.
Muddy River Case Study
[Abstract]
3. DATA/RESULTS
4. SACO RIVER DATA9
9
"Saco River Corridor Commission." Saco River Corridor Commission. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 June 2013.
http://srcc-maine.org/water-quality-monitoring/water-quality-data/
Muddy River Case Study
[Abstract]
5. DISCUSSION
The pH levels for the Muddy River were,
7.55, 8.55, 8.379, 7.55, and 6.38. Along the Saco
River in Conway, NH, the pH levels were 6.9,
6.76, 6.67, 6.61, and 6.4710. The levels
conducted in New Hampshire were more close
to a neutralized level than of the Muddy River—
which is located in an urban environment. The
levels of the Muddy River are more basic, thus
the toxicity of the water is higher.
Due to time constraints, we were not
able to collect as much data as we would have
like to with the temperature probes. But from
what we did collect we can deduce that the
water temperature of the Muddy River is
significantly higher than that of the Saco River.
This shows that the aquatic ecosystem of the
Muddy River is less healthy than the Saco river
because a higher water temperature negatively
impacts the organisms living in the river. One
may wonder why the temperature of the Muddy
River is higher. The muddy river is in a large
urban city otherwise known as a heat island.
Heat islands are considerably warmer when
compared to nearby rural areas due to the sun
radiating more on cities because of the higher
population and concentration of cement.
Therefore, the temperature of the river
inevitably rises.
10
"Saco River Corridor Commission." Saco River
Corridor Commission. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 June
2013. http://srcc-maine.org/water-qualitymonitoring/water-quality-data/
10
Wildlife Photos:
*All wildlife photographs taken by the
Boston Latin School Environmental
students in the spring of 2013*
Muddy River Case Study
[Abstract]
Wildlife Photos:
*All wildlife photographs taken by the
Boston Latin School Environmental
students in the spring of 2013*
Muddy River Flood of 1996