EPA: Mystic River Water Quality Poor

Mother Earth and Father Sky aren't going to be too happy when they see the Mystic River's most recent report card.

The Environmental Protection Agency released its annual report card for the river's water quality Sunday. The river received a grade of a D, with slight improvements over last year, but worse than 2008 and 2009, when it received a C-, according to an EPA press release.

“Although our grade is not where we would like it to be, we are continuing  to focus on problem areas and apply all our available tools to improving water quality in the Mystic River,” said region EPA administrator Curt Spalding in a written statement. “We need to redouble our efforts and stay the course over the next several years to ensure the water quality in the Mystic River Watershed improves.”

The EPA and the state's environmental protection department have put in place enforcement efforts recently aimed at removing harmfal discharges from sewage and storm drains throughout the watershed, the press release said. 

Storm drains in the Mystic River Watershed that produce of estimated 14,000 gallons per year in sewage are scheduled to be removed this year, the press release said.

The report card results were announced Sunday in Somerville during the annual Mystic River Herring Run and Paddle.