Mystic River Outfall and Sewer Separation

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Project Area Map

Project Overview

The City of Somerville is making substantial systemwide investments to modernize its sewer and stormwater infrastructure. As part of this effort, the City will be constructing a new stormwater outfall pipe which will discharge to the Mystic River, installing new drainage infrastructure, and rehabilitating the existing sewer system in the neighborhood west of Foss Park. This project will reduce flood risk in the surrounding area and help maintain the water quality of local rivers.

Prospective Timeline

City Staff from the Department of Infrastructure and Asset Management, along with consulting partners, are currently working on preliminary design for this project.

We anticipate sharing more information and initial design concepts at a community meeting to be scheduled in late spring/early summer 2024.

Preliminary designs are expected to be completed by Fall 2024. Final design is expected to be complete in 2025.

Learn More

To learn more about the City's efforts to reduce flooding and improve water quality in our local rivers, please see our Citywide Flood Mitigation and Water Quality Master Plan.

Information in other languages
Español, Português, Kreyòl Ayisyen, नेपाली, 简体中文版, 繁體中文版.

Project Overview

The City of Somerville is making substantial systemwide investments to modernize its sewer and stormwater infrastructure. As part of this effort, the City will be constructing a new stormwater outfall pipe which will discharge to the Mystic River, installing new drainage infrastructure, and rehabilitating the existing sewer system in the neighborhood west of Foss Park. This project will reduce flood risk in the surrounding area and help maintain the water quality of local rivers.

Prospective Timeline

City Staff from the Department of Infrastructure and Asset Management, along with consulting partners, are currently working on preliminary design for this project.

We anticipate sharing more information and initial design concepts at a community meeting to be scheduled in late spring/early summer 2024.

Preliminary designs are expected to be completed by Fall 2024. Final design is expected to be complete in 2025.

Learn More

To learn more about the City's efforts to reduce flooding and improve water quality in our local rivers, please see our Citywide Flood Mitigation and Water Quality Master Plan.

Information in other languages
Español, Português, Kreyòl Ayisyen, नेपाली, 简体中文版, 繁體中文版.

  • Share Your Feedback and Attend Virtual Office Hours!

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    On November 13, 2024, the City hosted an open house to share preliminary design concepts for the Mystic River Outfall and Sewer Separation project. Thank you to the community members who were able to join, ask questions, and share your thoughts. Check out the posters below to learn more about the project.

    Open House Posters

    At the open house, we asked attendees to tell us where they've experienced flooding or see opportunities to improve the streetscape in the project area. We want to hear from you! You can share this feedback virtually on our Flood Impacts Map and Street Improvements Map.

    Couldn't attend the open house? Still have questions? Have more feedback to share? Join one of our Virtual Office Hours to ask questions or give feedback to the project team. Community members can log into the zoom webinar at any time during the event.

    Thursday, November 21, 6:00pm - 7:00pm

    Saturday, November 23, 10:00am - 11:00am

    Monday, November 25, 6:00pm - 7:00pm

    At any time, please feel free to reach out to the Engineering Division with any of your questions or comments at engineering@somervillema.gov(External link) or 311 (617-666-3311).

    The City of Somerville can provide you with an interpreter in your language for free. To request an interpreter, please contact us at somervillema.gov/ContactSomerViva(External link) or call 311 (617-666-3311) at least 7 days in advance of this event.

    Persons with disabilities who need auxiliary aids and services for effective communication (i.e., CART, ASL), written materials in alternative formats, or reasonable modifications in policies and procedures in order to access the programs, activities, and meetings of the City of Somerville should please contact Adrienne Pomeroy in advance at 617-625-6600 x 2059 or apomeroy@somervillema.gov(External link).

  • Join the Mystic River Outfall and Sewer Separation Community Open House on Wednesday, November 13

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    Information available in: Español, Português, नेपाली, 简体中文版, 繁體中文版.


    Mayor Katjana Ballantyne, Ward 4 Councilor Jesse Clingan, and City staff invite you to an open house to learn more about flood relief and water quality improvement efforts planned for Winter Hill, Ten Hills, and the surrounding neighborhood.

    When? Wednesday, November 13, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

    Where? Mystic Activity Center (530 Mystic Avenue). 

    Since our first community meeting in April, the project team has been performing initial field investigations, coordinating with state and federal partners, and developing preliminary designs.

    The open house will feature multiple stations describing different aspects of the project and preliminary design. Drop-in anytime during the event to review the preliminary design, talk with project team members about your feedback, and ask questions.

    Following the event, information about the preliminary design will also be available on this project website.

    Other opportunities for community members to share feedback will include an online survey, virtual office hours with city staff (times and dates to come), and on-street outreach/tabling.

  • Share your input about flooding impacts in the Winter Hill and Ten Hills Neighborhoods!

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    Add your comments to our interactive Flood Impacts Map

    We've identified flood prone areas through public feedback and computer modeling, but want to hear directly from you. Writing your comments on this map will let the City’s project team know where you have identified flooding and opportunities in the project area. Drop a pin to highlight any location within the project area where you have noticed impacts from rain events. Once you add a pin, you can also include comments and images to describe the type of flooding impact.

  • Attend our First Community Meeting + Schedule a Home Drainage Survey

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    Join the Mystic River Outfall and Sewer Separation Community Meeting on April 24 at 6 p.m.

    Mayor Katjana Ballantyne, Ward 4 Councilor Jesse Clingan, and City staff invite you to join a virtual community meeting to learn about flood relief and water quality improvement efforts planned for Winter Hill, Ten Hills, and the surrounding neighborhood.

    At this meeting, City staff will introduce the project and share initial conceptual designs. Following the presentation, residents will have the opportunity to ask questions about the project and provide feedback.

    Register to Attend Here(External link)

    For those unable to attend, the meeting recording and presentation will be shared here shortly after the meeting.


    Schedule a Property Drainage Survey

    To better inform this project’s initial design, the City and its consulting partners, Stantec and Dewberry Engineers, will be conducting an external property drainage survey program. The goal of this program is to confirm existing connections between individual properties and the City’s sewer and drainage systems and to identify existing surface drainage locations. During each survey, a Dewberry or Stantec staff member will enter your property grounds to assess yard drainage features. Staff will need to be granted access to enter the property but will not need to come inside of any building.

    If you live in or own a property listed here, we would like to perform a survey of your property drainage features. The information gathered will be used solely for the design of underground utilities on your street and will not be shared with other persons or parties outside of the project team.

    Schedule an External Property Drainage Survey


Page last updated: 25 Nov 2024, 10:53 AM