All that rain we haven't been getting has meant dramatically lowered rivers, a statewide "red flag" warning about how easily things can go up in flames and now a state "critical drought" designation for "Massachusetts's Central and Northeast regions, including the Charles River watershed," according to the Charles River Watershed Association:
Streamflow in the Charles River is at critically low levels, with some sections showing zero flow.
Mary Ellen looked across the Charles from Millennium Park in West Roxbury at a copse of trees in Needham this morning.
The Boston Public Health Commission reports the state has lifted its cyanobacteria advisory for the Charles River between the Longfellow Bridge and the Charles River Dam, including the Broad and Lechmere canals in Cambridge. Read more.
Roving UHub photographer Jed Hresko stopped for a moment on the Mass. Ave. Bridge to enjoy the sunset this evening.
Mary Ellen spotted this great egret doing a little noshing in the Charles River off Millennium Park in West Roxbury the other day.
State officials report the feds have awarded the MBTA $472 million to replace the current 100-year-old drawbridges that connect North Station to points north and west over the Charles River. Read more.
The Crimson reports Harvard University will built and maintain a public dock at Herter Park, along the Charles River in Brighton, not because it really wants to, but as part of a deal to win state approval to allow renovations at its current boathouses, one on each side of the river - on shoreland that state law normally requires be open to the public.
The Charles in bloom and map of the affected area, by CRWA.
The state Department of Public Health yesterday confirmed that the Charles River from the Longfellow to the dam is now full of blue-green algae, which means you need to be especially careful to keep your dogs and young children out of it, the Charles River Watershed Association reports. Read more.
New sign, who dis?
On Monday, an outraged resident filed a 311 complaint about the goings on at the kayak launch on the Charles at Millennium Park - which is at the end of a fairly narrow path and surrounded by trees and brush: Read more.
Mary Ellen watched the sun go down over the Charles River from Millennium Park in West Roxbury this evening.
The Cambridge Fire Department reports a Boston Duck Boat rescued a father and child from the Charles River near the Royal Sonesta Hotel on Land Boulevard this morning. Read more.
Mary Ellen spotted a pair of black-crowned night herons keeping an eye out for coppers, or maybe just a big fish, at Millennium Park yesterday.
The other day, Mary Ellen spotted the glossy ibis that's been bringing all the birders down to the Millennium Park kayak launch the last week or so.
Mary Ellen reports that she and Dolly the Dog came across four egg-laying turtles along the Charles River in Millennium Park in West Roxbury yesterday (and that she and Dolly kept a good distance and didn't linger so as not to stress them).
DCR will be holding a public meeting Wednesday evening to help it map out a long-term plan for better managing the annual fall Head of the Charles Regatta between the Watertown line and the Charles River basin. Read more.
Roving UHub photographer Hope Cole spotted this turkey, no doubt hoping she can catch up with the Duck Boat at its next stop, near Science Park yesterday.
A concerned citizen filed a 311 report yesterday about all the dead fish on the rocks by the North Washington Street bridge and the Eliot School in the North End. Read more.
A snake found some old concrete and asphalt chunks a good place to do some sunning at the kayak launch in Millennium Park in West Roxbury this afternoon.
Mary Ellen watched a pair of Wilson's snipes along some fast moving water at Millennium Park in West Roxbury today: Read more.
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