June 8, 2001

MWRA to Hold Public Meeting on West Roxbury Tunnel Rehabilitation Project

On Tuesday June 26 the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority will be holding a public meeting to discuss the West Roxbury Tunnel Rehabilitation Project at 7 p.m. at the West Roxbury Elks Lodge at 1 Morrell Street.

Because there are significant residential impacts, the meeting is being held to inform the public of the construction schedule, and to give area residents a chance to discuss the details of the project.

The project was initiated in 1999 when the MWRA discovered that the 84-inch diameter sewer at New Haven Drop Chamber was in critical need of repair. The tunnel conveys wastewater from West Roxbury, Ashland, Framingham, Natick, Wellesley, Needham, Dedham, Newton and Brookline to the High Level Sewer in Hyde Park. From there, it continues to the Nut Island Headworks and Deer Island Treatment Plant before it is eventually discharged into Massachusetts Bay.

Because the path of the sewer runs through a heavily developed area, numerous easements and in some cases residential relocations are necessary. The project is expected to take approximately one year.

For more information on the meeting or the project, call Jeff McLaughlin, MWRA Public Affairs, 617-788-1192.