Around Town

Submissions Wanted for CRWA’s Charles River Photo Contest

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The following announcement was provided by the Charles River Watershed Association:

Calling all photographers – do you love to capture our favorite river? We are so pleased to announce the first annual 2023 Charles River Photo Contest! Submit your photos today – share your top three images with us by Friday, November 17th for a chance to win exciting river-themed prizes and features on our digital channels. Shortly after the deadline, finalists will be selected, and CRWA members will be called upon to vote for winners in next month’s River Current. Check out the full details over at crwa.org/photocontest, and submit your photos!

Around Town

Watertown Company Cleans Up Along Charles River During Day of Service

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A team of employees from WiTricity cleaned up the riverfront near Watertown Square. (Courtesy of WiTricity)

The following information was provided by WiTricity:

Headquartered in Watertown Square, WiTricity is the global leader in wireless charging with a particular focus on wirelessly charging electric vehicles. As part of our commitment to our community and to environmental responsibility, more than 30 people from the WiTricity team spent the afternoon dedicated to community service by cleaning up the area surrounding the river at the Galen Street Bridge on Oct. 5. WiTricity employees painted a bench along the Charles River during a day of service.

Around Town

LETTER: What the Delta Saw: A (slightly) Irreverent and Rambling History of Watertown Square Parts 3 & 4

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Map of the Original Allotments of of Land and the Ancient Topography of Watertown, By Henry Bond, MD (Photo courtesy of the Watertown Free Public Library)

By Linda ScottWatertown Resident

Part 3: Grist for the Mill

So, the Watertown colonists have lots of fish to eat [See Part 2 to read about the fish weir]. What else does any decent English town in the 1600’s need? A grist mill, of course! (If you’d like to see a still functioning grist mill, take a ride out to the Wayside Inn in Sudbury). In 1634, two years after the weir was installed, a mill dam and millrace were constructed.

Around Town

LETTER: What the Delta Saw: A (slightly) Irreverent and Rambling History of Watertown Square (Parts 1 & 2)

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Photo by Chuck Dickinson”Charles River, Watertown”

By Linda ScottWatertown Resident

Part 1: A River Runs Through It

I’m not going to lie to you folks. I started out intending to write a brief history of our Delta, and that’s where the trouble began. I got majorly sidetracked. So many different issues that played into this, and so many ways to approach it! But in the end, I decided that it all started with a river, the source of life for all creatures that inhabited what is now called “Watertown.”

In the beginning, this land was inhabited by the Massachusett people, Native Americans.

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Charles River in Watertown to be Treated for Invasive Plant Species

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MassDCR announced that a stretch of the Charles River in Watertown will be treated for invasive aquatic plant species this week. See the announcement below. On Thursday, August 24, 2023, the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) will conduct invasive aquatic species control work in the Charles River from approximately the Newton Yacht Club in the City of Newton to the Arsenal Street Bridge in the City of Boston. The Charles River will remain open to the public, however, DCR encourages those on the river that day to avoid the treatment area and the treatment vessels. If left unmanaged, invasive aquatic species will outcompete native plant species and inhibit water flow and recreational access. Alternative local state parks include the downstream portions of the Charles River Reservation in the City of Boston, Mystic River Reservation in the City of Medford, Beaver Brook Reservation in the Town of Belmont and Middlesex Fells Reservation in the Town of Stoneham.  

WHERE:  Charles River from the Newton Yacht in the City of Newton to the Arsenal Street Bridge in the City of Boston 

WHEN: Thursday, August 24, 2023 

Around Town

Section of Charles River Trail to be Closed for Repair Work

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Charlie BreitrosePart of the path along the Charles River will be closed Aug. 7-11 so the trail can be resurfaced. The Department of Conservation and Recreation announced that part of the trail along the Charles River will be closed this week. The following announcement was provided by the DCR:

On Monday, August 7, 2023, through Friday, August 11, 2023, the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) will continue to implement a closure of the Watertown Riverfront Park Trail between Watertown Square and the Perkins School for the Blind and in the City of Watertown from 7:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. to accommodate trail resurfacing work that was delayed due to weather. Additionally, Charles River Road (eastbound) and the southern sidewalk between Paul Street and Bay Street may be closed intermittently to accommodate the movement of construction equipment. Fencing and signage will be posted for the duration of the work.

Around Town

Watertown Man Planning to Ferry People to and from Boston on Charles River

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A rendering of the what the boat to be used by Wada Hoppah to ferry passengers from Watertown to Boston on the Charles River (Courtesy of Wada Hoppah)

A local man wants to put the “water” back into Watertown when it comes to public transportation. If everything comes together, Drew Rollert’s company Wada Hoppah will be ferrying passengers from Watertown to Beacon Hill, with stops along the way, beginning this fall. Cities such as Venice, Amsterdam, and London are known for using their rivers and canals for transportation, and Rollert believes Boston should join them. He is confident that people would like an alternative to sitting in traffic jams, or riding the MBTA’s buses or trains. The Watertown resident remembers the moment that the idea of river transportation came to him.