Boston Ground water Trust
The Boston Groundwater Trust (BGwT) was founded in 1986 by City Council Ordinance and reconvened in 1997 by Mayor Thomas M. Menino to monitor groundwater levels in Boston in an effort to safeguard wood foundation-supported buildings in historic landfill neighborhoods.
In 1999 the all-volunteer Trust formed a partnership with a group of concerned geo-technical engineers and the Wentworth Institute of Technology’s Co-op Program. Existing monitoring wells were inventoried, water levels read six times annually and critical locations needed for new wells were identified. In the fall of 2003, a program of new well construction was initiated with $1.6 million in funding from the Commonwealth’s Environmental Bond Bill. Municipal understanding of the importance of the groundwater issue was underscored by the City’s increased financial commitment of funding for the BGwT in 2004 to monitor and report on the well readings and to develop professional staff support for its previously volunteer operation of critical programs.
The BGwT monitors all of the wells in its network to determine groundwater levels and provides the information to the public on its website. The website is also used to update the public on other topics related to groundwater. The Trust participates in educational forums for the public, meets with other government officials to keep them up to date on the issue, is a member of the City-State Groundwater Working Group that joins City and State agencies in an effort to overcome the problem, and participates in the review of development projects to alert the appropriate agencies to potential impacts on groundwater levels.
source: http://www.bostongroundwater.org/
