Normandeau Helps Restore Boston's Muddy River | Bedford, NH — Tuesday, January 29, 2013 — Normandeau is providing erosion and sedimentation control, water quality, fisheries, wildlife, and aquatic restoration expertise in connection with the Muddy River Reconstruction project in Boston's Back Bay. Part of renowned landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted's Emerald Necklace park system, the Muddy River was once a tidal estuary that drained to the Charles River, which was historically influenced by tides. With the damming of the Charles River in the early 1900s, the Muddy River was no longer tidally flushed and became an aesthetic and public health nuisance. History repeats itself. While Olmsted's brilliant concept of harnessing freshwater flows and creating a series of ponds surrounded by parkland transformed the stagnant mudflats into parkland flanked by sinuous roads for pleasure vehicles (as they remain today, with commercial traffic prohibited from using the parkways), decades of urbanization along with natural processes have resulted in sedimentation and eutrophication of the very low gradient river and man-made ponds. Further, the environs have become prone to flooding due to loss of storage capacity, and portions of the historic parkland are now overrun with invasive plant species such as phragmites and knotweed.
The Boston Parks and Recreation Department and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have spearheaded efforts to address the issues associated with flooding and general degradation of the Muddy River section of Emerald Necklace. The Corps has hired Charter Environmental to "daylight" a long segment of the Muddy River that is now conveyed through pipes and to dredge at-grade portions of the river and its banks that have accumulated excess sediment. Normandeau is assisting Charter with erosion and sedimentation control plans, water quality monitoring, protection of fisheries and wildlife, and planting of the wetlands and river banks. |
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About Normandeau Associates, Inc.
Normandeau Associates, Inc. is one of the largest science-based environmental consulting firms in the United States serving both the private and public sectors. Founded in 1970, it is a trusted leader in delivering sound, innovative scientific solutions to a global clientele. Normandeau's extensive team of experienced field scientists, analysts, researchers, and permitting specialists delivers technically credible information to help achieve project goals, meets regulatory requirements, and promotes sustainable economic development while protecting and restoring natural resources. Headquartered in Bedford, New Hampshire with offices nationwide, Normandeau is 100% owned by its employees. For more information please contact Normandeau at (603) 472-5191 or visit www.normandeau.com.
Normandeau Associates Media Contact
Elizabeth Evarts
603.472.5191 Ext 115
bevarts@normandeau.com
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