December 2016 —

The Avery Street swale is the last of three structures built to collect and filter stormwater runoff before it reaches Mother Brook. A stormwater swale is a linear trench that is intended to manage stormwater runoff. The other two structures are located on the corner of Sawmill Lane and Emmet Ave, and on the corner of Colburn St. and Hyde Park St.

The Dedham Stormwater Project is a collaboration between the town of Dedham and NepRWA, utilizing 319 grant funds from MassDEP.  For any questions about the project, please contact NepRWA Environmental Scientist, Chris Hirsch at 781-575-0354 x 302 or email at hirsch@neponset.org.

From left to right: Avery Street, Colburn Street, Sawmill Lane

Stormwater runoff occurs when rain or snowmelt flow over impervious surfaces like driveways, sidewalks, and streets. Run off picks up trash, pet waste, fertilizers, dirt, and other pollutants and carries it into the storm drain system or directly to the nearest waterbody.

• Anything that enters a storm drain system is discharged, untreated, into the waterbodies we use for swimming and fishing.
• All of the water that runs off without being absorbed into the ground is water that isn’t recharging our drinking water supplies.

In the Neponset Watershed, stormwater runoff is a major source of bacteria and nutrient pollution. This poses a major health risk for anyone that recreates in the water immediately following a rain event, or for anyone that comes in contact with a cyanobacteria bloom driven by excess-nutrients.

The stormwater structures built in Dedham collect stormwater runoff before it enters the drain system and they filter the runoff using special soils and plants to remove many of the pollutants. If properly maintained these structures will help clean up Mother Brook every time it rains.