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Community Corner

Milford Casino and its Environmental Impacts

The headwaters of the Charles River, from which the Milford Water Company (MWC) withdraws, are extremely sensitive to both water withdrawals and wastewater discharges.  MWC’s surface water withdrawals at Echo Lake and directly from the Charles, and its groundwater wells, remove water that would otherwise provide river flow, impacting wildlife, aquatic life, water quality, and river enjoyment.  Withdrawing another 250,000 gallons daily and using MWC’s surface water sources more in the summer, as proposed for the casino, will only make the situation worse.  Discharging this volume of new wastewater into the Charles below the Milford Wastewater Treatment Plant compounds the problem and will negatively impact water quality; Milford Pond is already severely impacted by aquatic vegetation and sediments. 

 

Through its Sustainable Water Management Initiative, Massachusetts is now using biological and groundwater withdrawal categories to gauge the heath of rivers across the state. The Charles in Milford is classified as severely altered and MWC’s combined use of its surface sources has frequently exceeded the allowable “firm yield” of these sources.    

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Whether the MWC can physically pump another 250,000 gallons a day for a casino and still meet the Town’s future needs are questions MassDEP will need to examine.  But there is no question that the Charles River here and downstream will suffer even more damage from a casino’s increased withdrawals and wastewater discharges.     

Margaret Van Deusen

Deputy Director and General Counsel
Charles River Watershed Association
Weston, MA

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