![]() ![]() Today, Boston Harbor is safe for fishing and for swimming nearly every day, though there are still beach closings after even small rainstorms, caused by bacteria-laden storm water and the occasional combined sewer overflow. Since the writing of the song, the water quality in both the Harbor and the Charles River has significantly improved, and the projects have dramatically transformed Boston Harbor from one of the filthiest in the nation to one of the cleanest. Neal Stephenson, who attended Boston University from 1977 to 1981, based his second novel, Zodiac, around pollution of the harbor. īefore the clean-up projects, the water was so polluted that The Standells released a song in 1965 called " Dirty Water" which referred to the sorry state of the Charles River. The court-ordered cleanup continued throughout the next two decades and is still ongoing. Bush defeated Dukakis partly through campaign speeches casting doubt on the governor's environmental record, which Dukakis himself had claimed was better than that of Bush. The slow progress of the cleanup became a key theme of the 1988 U.S. The lawsuits forced then-Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis to propose separating the water and sewer treatment divisions from the MDC, resulting in the creation of the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority in 1985. ![]() The Charles, Mystic, and Neponset rivers empty into Boston Harbor. That suit was followed by one by Conservation Law Foundation and finally by the United States government, resulting in the landmark court-ordered cleanup of Boston Harbor. The city of Quincy sued the Metropolitan District Commission (MDC) and the separate Boston Water and Sewer Commission in 1982, charging that unchecked systemic pollution of the city's waterfront contributed to the problem. Fecal coliform bacteria levels forced frequent swimming prohibitions along the harbor beaches and the Charles River for many years. Failures at the Nut Island sewage treatment plant in Quincy and the companion Deer Island plant adjacent to Winthrop had far-reaching environmental and political effects. More recently, the harbor was the site of the $4.5 billion Boston Harbor Project. Since the mid-1970s organizations within the Boston community have battled for a cleaner Boston Harbor. In 1972, the Clean Water Act was passed in order to help promote increased national water quality. However, not much improvement was seen and general public awareness of the poor quality of water was very low. In 1919, the Metropolitan District Commission was created to oversee and regulate the quality of harbor water. With these mandates, the harbor was seeing small improvements, but raw sewage was still continuously pumped into the harbor. In the 19th century, two of the first steam sewage stations were built (one in East Boston and one later on Deer Island). As early as the late 19th century Boston citizens were advised not to swim in any portion of the Harbor. The health of the harbor quickly deteriorated as the population of Boston increased. A rapid influx of people transformed Boston into an exploding city. By 1660, almost all imports came to the greater Boston area and the New England coast through the waters of Boston Harbor. It was the site of the Boston Tea Party, as well as almost continuous building of wharves, piers, and new filled land into the harbor until the 19th century. It was also favored due to its access to the Charles River, Neponset River and Mystic River which made travel from the harbor deeper into Massachusetts far easier. Early on, it was recognized by Europeans as one of the finest natural harbors in the world due to its depth and natural defense from the Atlantic as a result of the many islands that dot the harbor. Since its discovery to Europeans by John Smith in 1614, Boston Harbor has been an important port in American history. History Brig "Antelope" in Boston Harbor, by Fitz Henry Lane, 1863 ( Museum of Fine Arts, Boston) It is home to the Port of Boston, a major shipping facility in the Northeastern United States. Topographic map of Boston Harbor USCGC James pulls into Harbor in August 2015.īoston Harbor is a natural harbor and estuary of Massachusetts Bay, and is located adjacent to the city of Boston, Massachusetts. For other uses, see Boston Harbor (disambiguation). This article is about Boston Harbor, Massachusetts. ![]()
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