Sewage Cleanup in Boston, MA

Boston's combined sewer system is a civic infrastructure relic — the city began building combined sewers in the 1870s under the direction of pioneering civil engineer Joseph P. Davis, and portions of this Victorian-era infrastructure remain in active service today. The Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) has made significant progress in reducing combined sewer overflows to Boston Harbor — a decades-long cleanup effort that transformed one of America's dirtiest harbors into a recreational resource — but residential sewage backups continue in the city's older neighborhoods during major Nor'easter events. The neighborhoods with the heaviest sewage backup burden are South Boston, East Boston, Charlestown, and the South End, where combined sewers built between 1880 and 1920 are shared with stormwater. Boston's brownstone English basements and triple-decker laundry/utility areas are particularly vulnerable to sewage backpressure events, as their below-grade locations place them directly in the backflow path. The city's granite and brick paving throughout historic neighborhoods prevents soil absorption of stormwater, amplifying combined sewer loading during Nor'easters.