Effects of Construction in the Silver Maple Forest

1
Effects of Construction
in the Silver Maple Forest

• By Melanie Hall, Chloe Starr,
• Jesse Smith, Nora Katz

www.freindsofalewifereservation.org
2
Project Overview

• Proposed construction plan
• Ecologic impact
• Flooding and pollution consequences
• Environmental justice
• Conclusions

3
Location

• 15.6 acres of land privately owned by Brian
  ONeill Properties Group
• Located between Little River and Route 2 in
  Belmont, MA
• Upstream of Alewife Brook Reservation

4
The Proposal

• 300 unit residential complex
• 75 units of affordable housing
• Total square footage 382,706
• 3.4 acres of impervious coverage

5
Possible Benefits According to ONeill Properties
Group

• 714,00 in annual revenue
• Increased tax base to benefit Belmont
• Possible state funding for fulfilling 10
  subsidized housing unit goal

6
EnvironmentalImpacts

• From the destruction of the
• Silver Maple Forest

http//www.bio.umass.edu/biology/conn.river/plant_
images/forest3.jpg
7
Silver Maple Forest

• 15 acres located along the riverbank and edge of
  Little Pond
• One of the only large, old-growth stands in the
  Boston area
• Can tolerate
• seasonal flooding

http//www.bio.umass.edu/biology/conn.river/plant_
images/forest1.jpg
8
Animal Habitats

• Provides nesting areas for many birds including
  wood ducks and hooded mergansers
• Buds are essential for supporting the food chain
  of squirrels
• Provides lumber for beaver dams located along the
  riverbanks

9
Animal Habitats cont.

• Provides cover for larger mammals such as deer,
  fox and minks
• Without the forest, animals would have to move
  elsewhere to find food and shelter
• This could mean relocation to neighborhoods and
  backyards

10
Root System

• Silver maples are characterized by a shallow,
  fibrous root system
• Keeps the soil intact and prevents riverbank
  erosion
• Loss of this root system could induce erosion
  into the river, potentially raising the flood
  level

http//www.bio.umass.edu/biology/conn.river/plant_
images/advroots.jpg
11
Flooding and Pollution From the Construction

• Construction will decrease evapotranspiration and
  increase runoff and runoff rates
• Construction will increase water exposure to
  several heavy metals, as well as all the
  pollutants that result from a residential
  development.

12
Evapotranspiration

• Vegetation is also crucial to prevent flooding
• Plants can absorb thousands of gallons of water a
  day
• Removing the scheduled trees would create 2.26
  million more gallons of runoff

http//wwwcimis.water.ca.gov/cimis/infoEtoOverview
.jsp
Charles Katuka
13
FLOODING

• Urbanization increases both runoff AND runoff
  rate
• Even with controls, it is almost impossible to
  prevent this

http//serc.carleton.edu/images/introgeo/socratic/
examples/Hydrograph.jpg
14
Previous Flooding

• Many reports of flooding in homes, and partial
  submergence of Route 2 in the 1990s
• Combined Sewer Overflows
• Outdated flood plain

15
Current Pollution

• CSOs
• Water is Class-B
• Only 4 of 27 samples actually had acceptable
  E-coli levels

http//www.yosemite.org/naturenotes/images/E-coli.
jpg
16
New pollutants to be added

• HEAVY METALS
• 0.180 mg/l of Pb
• 0.176 mg/l of Zn
• 0.046 mg/l of Cu

http//www.paneco.ch/Galerie/Bilder/Projekte/Indon
esien/02Abfall400x265.jpg
17
In combination
http//www.calpoison.org/public/lead.html, http//
www.clockcollecting.com/bruno/parts/Tall20Case20
Lead20Bob.jpg http//www.lewes-flood-action.org.u
k/lfa-images/flood.gif
18
Chapter 40B and Snob Zoning

• Chapter 40B- state statute allowing for faster
  approval and zoning processes if 25 of housing
  units are affordable
• Designed to help communities reach the state goal
  of 10 affordable housing per town
• ONeill Properties meets the minimum requirement
  and has been approved to use 40B
• Snob zoning- Belmont does not want medium income
  housing in the community

19
Open Green Space

• Pollution created by the development will flow
  downstream along the Mystic River watershed
• Directly downstream is the Alewife Brook
  Reservation
• Serves as the main source of open natural space
  for North Cambridge and parts of Arlington

http//www.mysticriver.org/maps/mystic_greenways.p
df
20
Comparison of Per Capita Incomes between Belmont,
Arlington, Cambridge
Town Per Capita Income
Belmont 42,485
Cambridge 31,156
Arlington 34,399
Who deserves a clean and healthy environment?