Related: Around AmeriKa: Wild Weather
Anyhow, I have an easier job of digging out.
Hope you are nowhere near any of this:
"A deluge of misery across the region; Waters flood roads, force out hundreds; dams threatened" by Peter Schworm and Noah Bierman, Globe Staff | March 16, 2010
A third day of rain pushed Eastern Massachusetts to a tipping point yesterday as a relentless nor’easter sent rivers and streams spilling over their banks, overwhelmed sewer systems, flooded major roads, and forced hundreds to leave their homes ahead of advancing waters.
The unusually persistent late-winter storm, which dropped more than 10 inches of rain on Boston over a 72-hour span, prompted Governor Deval Patrick to declare a state of emergency and forced the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority to empty untreated sewage into Quincy Bay for the first time in five years....
As the storm set a precipitation record for March 15 and appeared destined to be marked one of the worst in more than a decade, officials anxiously watched strained dams and bridges. And, perhaps in testament to the wearying ubiquity of water, an MBTA official said he thought he spotted a fish skittering across the platform at the commuter rail station in Wilmington....
Travel around Eastern Massachusetts proved a chore.
Yes, I KNOW! A guy who played basketball with me Monday night told me all about it.
Unlike major snowstorms, when schools and workplaces typically close, most were open yesterday, bringing large numbers of commuters to waterlogged roads. At morning rush hour, commutes were twice as long as usual, and nearly as bad in the evening. On Route 2 near Alewife Station in Cambridge, floods had closed four of six lanes, causing delays throughout the area. Those searching for small-road shortcuts found that many of those were closed, too.
Yes, and I enjoyed the first hand account I heard almost as much as he enjoyed telling it!!!
Flights at Logan International Airport were delayed, as were several bus routes....
The storm also overburdened sewage systems. With its plant on Nut Island in Quincy overflowing, the MWRA was forced to empty untreated waste into Quincy Bay.
Am I ever glad I live far away from that stink shitty.
“It’s really to save the station,’’ said Ria Convery, an MWRA spokesman. “If it fills up with water, we’ve got bigger troubles.’’
Convery said the controlled release is mostly water and is permitted under environmental regulations in an emergency. Officials plan to test the water for elevated bacteria levels. Raw sewage was also released into the Mystic River.
And here they have everyone worked up over global pffffting!
Through all the gloom and bother, Gwyneth Sheen remained upbeat.
Oh, no, I don't want to hear this.
Her basement in Brighton had flooded for the first time in 16 years. But she saw a gleam through the dreariness.
Yeah, a turd will do that if the light hits it right. Still smells bad.
“At least we don’t have to shovel it,’’ she said.
Well, actually, Globe is doing a lot of shoveling with that insult.
Yeah, I'd rather shit water back up in my bathroom rather than shoveling snow outside.
I guess this lady wouldn't mind slurping down the same swill, 'eh?
Bottoms up, Glob!
Related: Green Line fix may take week or more
Flooded basements, besieged dams, and other scenes from the wet and weary in Eastern Mass.
Don't worry; state going to clean it all up.
"State officials begin cleanup, assessing damage" by Peter Schworm and Travis Andersen, Globe Staff | March 17, 2010
Slogging through the soggy aftermath of a torrential rainstorm, the state embarked on a massive cleanup operation yesterday, as crews cleared debris-strewn roads, pumped out ton after ton of sewage-laced water, and shored up overflowing dams.
As the sun broke through for the first time in days and dangerous flood waters receded, state and local officials began taking stock of the damage inflicted by three days of torrential rain. Although the worst had passed, dozens of people remained homeless, major roads stayed closed, and several swollen rivers were still on the rise....
From the air, storm damage could be seen scattered across a large swath of Eastern Massachusetts....
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"Many must fend for themselves; State of emergency won’t solve most homeowners’ flooding woes" by Megan Woolhouse and Erin Ailworth, Globe Staff | March 17, 2010
WINCHESTER — With no flood insurance to help him recover, Paul Welliver was hoping that a state of emergency declared by Governor Deval Patrick would mean that he and other inundated residents would get relief from the government....
You are not a bank or war looter, are you?
But Welliver and others mucking out damaged basements are mostly on their own. Other than to give the governor broad powers to, for example, mobilize resources such as the National Guard, the state of emergency offers no real help for homeowners.
You don't need to tell anyone who lives here that.
Massachusetts expects to ask the federal government for help, but....
But you are not a bank or war-profiteer, so.... got a campaign contribution?
And this should sum up the situation nicely:
Don't need anything else, but if you want it....
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I hope he didn't see anything floating.
"Sewage release brings calls for answers; Storm flow could have destroyed station" by David Abel, Globe Staff | March 18, 2010
The weekend’s driving rains dropped more than 10 inches on the Boston area over 72 hours. By Monday, the deluge had become so overwhelming that a record 400 million gallons of water and raw sewage was flowing through the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority’s Nut Island facility on Quincy Bay.
The surge left MWRA officials with two bad choices: pump some untreated sewage into Boston Harbor or let it back up in homes and flood the station.
Dump it!
Not in homes!
For nearly an hour Monday, they chose to empty some 15 million gallons of untreated sewage into Quincy Bay, in the southern reaches of Boston Harbor, saving the station, but angering local officials.
Can't say as I blame them, but.... you wanna wade around the basement.
“This is where we boat, swim, fish; we care about this,’’ said Daniel G. Raymondi, a Quincy city councilor whose district borders the bay. “We have paid a tremendous price to clean up the bay. This is very concerning.’’
And in flush....
At a meeting a few hours after the 15 million gallons was released into the bay, city councilors voted to call for an independent investigation into the MWRA decision and for the independent public agency to cover cleanup costs. They also sought help from Framingham and 20 other municipalities that send their waste water to Nut Island, where it is partly filtered and sent to a treatment plant on Deer Island.
“It would be illegal if any homeowner, business owner, or other resident dumped raw sewage into the town brook, and here we have 15 million gallons of partial sewage in the bay,’’ Raymondi said.
Yeah, isn't liberal fascism wonderful?
“We need an investigation into why they did this, under what authority they did this, and what the impact is on the bay,’’ he said. “Are there any short-term or long-term consequences? And what can be done structurally in the future to make sure that we don’t have the option of sewage backing up in houses or dumping raw sewage into the bay?’’
State environmental officials are reviewing the incident.
Authority officials said they made the right call and would not change their response if they had to do it again. They also said the threat of bacteria is limited and that the water quality should be back to normal by the end of the week.
Frederick A. Laskey, the authority’s executive director, said his staff waited as long as possible, until the water level rose to the station’s floorboards, before discharging the sewage.
They did cut it real close. Must have stunk to high heaven. Just living around the bend stinks.
He said the MWRA’s permit allows sewage to be released into the bay if it helps avoid catastrophic damage to their facilities and protects property and public health.
“We believe both of these thresholds were easily met,’’ he said. “We believe this will not be a violation of our permit.’’
He said the record flow of sewage to Deer Island exceeded by 70 million gallons the previous record set during a storm on Mother’s Day in 2006.
“Our decision was the right thing for the environment and for public health,’’ he said. “The only other thing was to have been more conservative and to have discharged earlier, putting more sewage in the harbor.’’
Yeah, it was an either or....
Ed Coletta, a spokesman for the state Department of Environmental Protection, said the MWRA notified his office of the discharge within 24 hours, as required. Within five days, they are required to provide a report on what happened and why.
“Obviously, this was a very large event,’’ Coletta said. “We’ll be looking at the information they send. At this point, I’m not aware of any violation.’’
Environmental advocates and some Quincy officials defended the authority’s decision.
Bruce Berman, a spokesman for the Boston-based advocacy group Save the Harbor-Save the Bay, described the storm as a “100-year event’’ that would test any sewage system. He said he was proud of how the authority handled the crisis.
“I don’t think there was anything better they could have done,’’ Berman said. “They did a superb job managing an incredibly difficult situation.’’
He added: “I absolutely understand why people are upset. Twenty years ago, we released 280 million gallons of largely untreated waste every day. Today, we make news when we release 15 million gallons of sewage once, during a really big storm. That’s good news.’’
Yeah, we only shit in your water a little bit. Wanna drink?
These guys have s*** for brains.
Chris Walker, a spokesman for Mayor Thomas Koch of Quincy, called the discharge an unfortunate event that no one welcomed. But he added, “The mayor supports their choice and would rather see waste in the ocean than in people’s homes.’’
I have to agree there.
Can you imagine the reaction and rage if the opposite occurred?
Douglas S. Gutro, a Quincy city councilor who did not vote on the resolution, called the decision “a necessary evil.’’
“The alternative would have not been in the best interests of the residents or the treatment plant,’’ he said.
No, you don't want that bubbling up in the basement.
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So how is that cleanup going, state?
"Cleanup around state from storm flooding to be slow process" by Martin Finucane and Shana Wickett, Globe Staff | Globe Correspondent | March 18, 2010
State officials say rivers in Eastern Massachusetts have crested and waters are starting to recede, but getting back to normal could take time for people in areas that were flooded after the recent deluge.
“It’s going to be a very slow process,’’ said Peter Judge, a spokesman for the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency. “This is not going to be a very quick fix.’’
Like everything the state does. They sure make a mess of things quick though.
The storm dumped more than 10 inches of rain on parts of the state from Saturday through Monday, officials said.
In Middleton, a man apparently drowned in a flooded office at Urethane & Silicone Castings, Inc. on Birch Road.
John Liston, 49, was found yesterday by his father.
What a gruesome discovery.
Police found him in the water, unresponsive.
??????
They said foul play is not suspected. Police said he was believed to have been alone in the building pumping flood water overnight....
And it just kept rising, 'eh?
National Weather Service officials said yesterday that widespread flooding would continue on many rivers in Eastern Massachusetts through at least last night and warned people to steer clear of swollen streams and to be on the lookout for sudden mudslides.
Mudslides? Here?
Many roads in the region were still closed yesterday.
“I don’t think anyone has ever seen a level of this type of water damage in the history of the town,’’ said Mayor Joseph C. Sullivan of Braintree....
Then it historic, isn't it? The Great Boston Flood of 2010!
Related: EPA Running Off at the Mouth
They can't help it; they are from Washington D.C.
Update: Green Line section due to be reopened Monday
I'll be back to do a little more digging later.
