Mystic River Watershed (MA)
The Mystic River Watershed is a collection of rivers, streams, lakes, and ponds that drain an area of approximately 76 square miles and 21 municipalities north of Boston. The Mystic River proper, which flows from the Mystic Lakes in Winchester and Arlington through Medford, Somerville, Everett, Charlestown and Chelsea to Boston Harbor, is one of the great urban rivers of New England.
The river and the watershed that feeds it, served as an epicenter of much of the activity from which sprung settlement and economic activity in the colonies: mills, shipyards and villages. Unfortunately, settlement and industrial activity have not always been kind to the Watershed.
The watershed became a designated Urban Waters Partnership location in 2013. The Partnership works to improve coordination and focus among federal agencies on problems in the watershed. The Partnership promotes community-led efforts at economic, social and ecological revitalization. The focus of efforts for the Mystic River Watershed include:
- urban water restoration and monitoring
- water quality awareness
- scientific research
- marine and environmental education
- The Environmental Protection Agency
- The U.S. Forest Service
- The National Parks Service
- The U.S. Geological Survey
- The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
- The Federal Emergency Management Agency
- The Army Corps of Engineers
- MA Department of Energy and Environmental Affairs
- MA Department of Public Health
- MA Department of Conservation and Recreation
- MA Department of Environmental Protection
- MA Area Planning Council
- MA Port Authority
- MA Water Resource Authority
- Town of Lexington
- City of Medford
- Town of Winchester
- City of Cambridge
- City of Watertown
- Town of Reading
- Town of Belmont
- Town of Arlington
- City of Chelsea
- City of Everett
- City of Somerville
- City of Malden
- Town of Wakefield
- City of Revere
- Town of Woburn
- Town of Burlington
- City of Winthrop
- City of Boston
- City of Melrose
- Town of Wilmington
- Town of Stoneham
- Friends of Upper Mystic Lake
- University of Massachusetts Boston
- Mystic River Watershed Association
- Friends of Alewife Reservation
- Chelsea Collaborative
- Groundworks Somerville
- Charlestown Waterfront Coalition
- Neighborhood Of Affordable Housing
- Alternatives for Community and Environment
View the Mystic River Watershed Initiative homepage for more information on this location's ongoing projects.