Guest Op-Ed: Water Day 2021: Cleaner Rivers for Massachusetts – East Boston Times-Free Press eastietimes.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from eastietimes.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
By Julia Blatt, Executive Director, Massachusetts Rivers Alliance
As Massachusetts observes World Water Day this year, our state’s communities have particular reason to celebrate. The Massachusetts legislature recently enacted (and Governor Baker signed into law) a state sewage notification bill. This important new law has been a long time coming.
World Water Day falls on March 22nd of each year. Since it first became a United Nations Observance Day in 1993, World Water Day has served as a time to think about, and take action to address, the water crisis. In 2021, World Water Day focuses on the environmental, social and cultural value people place on water. The day provides Massachusetts residents an opportunity to consider the importance of clean water. Clean water is not something to take for granted.
As climate change increases flooding, Mass. likely to see damaged-property costs surge, report says
Advocates call for plans to manage a retreat from low-lying coastal areas
By David Abel Globe Staff,Updated February 22, 2021, 12:01 a.m.
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In January 2018. the Brant Rock section of Marshfield suffered at high tide during a blizzard.John Tlumacki
By mid-century, nearly 50,000 homes a year in Massachusetts will face a substantial risk of structural damage from flooding, an 11 percent increase from today, according to a report.
As sea levels rise and storms become more powerful as a result of climate change, flooding will pose a serious threat to nearly 4.3 million homes across the country by 2051. That could cause annual losses of more than $32 billion, a 61 percent increase from the estimated costs today, according to an analysis by First Street Foundation, a New York nonprofit research group that specializes in flood risk.
As climate change increases flooding, Mass likely to see damaged-property costs surge, report says msn.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from msn.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
During the final hours of the legislative session, the Massachusetts House and Senate enacted, An Act promoting awareness of sewage pollution in public waters.
The bill now sits on Gov. Charles Baker’s desk, where he has 10 days after the bill’s enactment to sign it.
This is an important step in protecting public health, our state’s water quality, and upgrading outdated water infrastructure. H.4921, sponsored by Rep. Linda Dean Campbell (D-Methuen), Sen. Pat Jehlen (D-Somerville), and Rep. Denise Provost (D-Somerville), will require water suppliers to establish a public notification system to let Massachusetts residents know when there’s been a sewage discharge in their area. Up until now, residents had no way to know when sewage was present in their local waterways, running the risk of unknowingly coming in contact with harmful bacteria and toxins that could cause serious health impacts. Increasing awareness about archaic infrastructure is the first step in the long journe