Water Chestnut Cleanup at the Mystic River - SNN#44

Somerville, MA, July 14, 2015 – The Mystic River suffered from decades of industrial pollution during the early twentieth century. Cleanup efforts have now created a ribbon of clean water that flows through Somerville on its way out to Boston Harbor. The river now attracts boaters and wildlife alike to its waters.

Now an invasive plant species has found its way into the Mystic threatening to choke off the river. According to the Mystic River Watershed Association, the water chestnut is native to Eurasia, and was brought to the Boston area in 1898 by a Harvard botanist. If left unchecked the water chestnut plants will spread across the river’s surface choking off oxygen to other plants and animals in the water.

The Mystic River Watershed Association has teamed up with the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority to clear the water chestnuts from the Arlington, Medford, and Cambridge stretches of the Mystic River.

This year the groups are working to clear the invasive species along several sections of the river in Somerville. With the help of volunteers and mechanical processes they are starting to get the plant’s spread under control.

According to one volunteer, “A couple years ago, there was only a very small opening for kayaks or canoes in the center of the river because of all of the water chestnuts. Now, we have regained so much more space for activities.”

The first Water Chestnut clean up of the summer attracted over one hundred volunteers in colorful kayaks and canoes for a morning of pulling and floating on the river. Their efforts removed over seven hundred baskets of plants from the water. There will be two more cleanups this summer on July 18th and August 8th. For more information or to register for one of the clean ups, visit mysticriver.org.

Somerville Neighborhood News is a production of Somerville Community Access Television, made by professional journalists, volunteers and staff. The half-hour news show has as its mission to provide a lively, informative newscast focusing on the events, issues and information impacting Somerville residents.