CHARLES  RIVER  PARKLANDS  UPDATE
September 2002
Archives—Table of Contents

Slip-Sliding A-W-A-Y

Now you see it, now you don't. That's what's happening along much of the Charles River, as poor and improper maintenance -- or no maintenance at all -- are taking their toll on the vegetation that anchors the shoreline. Because of the river's sluggish current, soil erosion generally has not been seen as a major problem in the past. As the erosion continues, however, some experts are beginning to feel the impact could be severe.

Environmental engineer Daniele Lantagne, an Allston resident and enthusiastic kayak user, reports that significant Parklands acreage has already been lost and that the erosion continues at the very fast rate of one foot a year in some sections. From many of the bridges over the Charles, it's easy to see where 15 to 20 feet of land have disappeared, and water working its way behind the plant life along the riverbanks points to other endangered areas as well, she says.

According to Roger Frymire of Cambridge, who like Lantagne is often out on the Charles in a kayak and is a long-time observer of erosion and storm runoff problems, the worst of the problem is occurring on the Boston side of the river, just upstream of the Weeks Foot Bridge. Frymire estimates some two acres in front of the Harvard Business School have been lost to erosion alone. "You can see large 'scallops' in the shoreline where substantial chunks of land are falling in (to the river) on a weekly basis," he says.

Much of the problem is attributable to boat wakes, he observes, noting that while the wash from one or two of the many power boats cruising the river may not amount to much, the continual force created by thousands of craft passing up and down the river exerts a powerful force on the shore. Strict observance of speed limits by power boaters is critical if Parklands erosion is to be checked.

Other evidence of the erosion noted by Frymire includes sandbars that develop as land falls into the river, making it impassible in some instances. He cites the example of the area near North Beacon Street in Brighton, where sandbars created by sediment are so extreme that passing boats must detour around them.

Shoreline maintenance is the responsibility of the chronically under-funded Metropolitan District Commission (MDC), which lacks the budgetary resources to address the problem. In fact, the MDC Administration and Parks Division budgets were recently slashed by $161,270 and $1,344,764 respectively during the budget battles that preceded passage of the Environmental Bond Bill.

Frymire notes that most of the MDC's maintenance resources currently are centered on mowing grass, "and even that is done poorly." In what he characterizes as a misplaced effort to save money, the grass is cut as close to the ground surface as possible. Lantagne notes that the roots wither from this exposure -- yet it's the roots that keep the soil in place, and where there is no more vegetation, riverbank soil is quickly washed into the river. Thus the Parklands are literally sliding away under the waters of the Charles.

Gloomy as this scenario may appear, it is possible for the MDC -- and even private individuals -- to improve the situation. One of the prime culprits of increasing erosion is storm water catch basins. If not cleared regularly, they often fill up with sand, causing rain water to spill onto the Parklands and putting pressure on the shoreline. "Some even have plants growing in them," Frymire observes, adding that clearing the catch basins can also ease the flooding problem on Storrow Drive and help avoid expensive repaving.

To Lantagne, the most important element in shoreline preservation is keeping a continuous band of stone rip rap (as armor) and vegetation (as enforcement) in place at the river's edge. "It might not look as pretty as grass going to the water's edge," she notes, "but with proper management it does the job."

One way private individuals and organizations can contribute toward a healthier shoreline is to help with hand-cutting in certain areas by signing up as a volunteer in the CRC's new Parklands maintenance program. This helps to mitigate the erosion caused by aggressive, less selective slope cutting.

As noted in the MDC Master Plan for the Parklands, long stretches of the shoreline need rebuilding -- an expensive, painstaking and lengthy procedure only possible through public funding. Larger institutions and corporations, as well as community residents living along the Charles, need to let their state legislators know of this concern and join the Conservancy in working to see their precious Parklands, to borrow a phrase from the popular Paul Simon tune, stop "slip sliding away."

Charles River Parklands is published by The Charles River Conservancy, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the rehabilitation of the Basin parklands of the Charles River.

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© 2002, The Charles River Conservancy.