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Effects of Construction in the Silver Maple Forest

Effects of Construction in the Silver Maple Forest. By Melanie Hall, Chloe Starr, Jesse Smith, Nora Katz. www.freindsofalewifereservation.org. Project Overview. Proposed construction plan Ecologic impact Flooding and pollution consequences

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Effects of Construction in the Silver Maple Forest

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  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 O’Neill 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 O’Neill 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 1990’s • 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/Indonesien/02Abfall400x265.jpg

  17. In combination… http://www.calpoison.org/public/lead.html, http://www.clockcollecting.com/bruno/parts/Tall%20Case%20Lead%20Bob.jpg http://www.lewes-flood-action.org.uk/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 • O’Neill 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. 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 Open Green Space http://www.mysticriver.org/maps/mystic_greenways.pdf

  20. Comparison of Per Capita Incomes between Belmont, Arlington, Cambridge Who deserves a clean and healthy environment?

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