Edge of the cleared phragmites line is the approximate location of the Flow Restriction Control Structure (FRCS) – about 100’ upstream of the existing Riverway Intake Structure – end June 2015.
Removal of sediment downstream of Avenue Louis Pasteur Culvert to create the Flood Risk Management Channel – mid June 2015
Looking downstream at Upper Fens Pond. Note the construction of the stone protection at the toe of the bank – mid June 2015.
Bank stabilization/construction with stone protection at Upper Fens Pond – early June 2015.
The twin 72” culverts are completely exposed as the Upper Fens Pond is fully dewatered and sediment removal activities have begun – end of April 2015.
Temporary access roads are constructed on either side of the river bank in order to remove the sediment (black material in the background where the excavators are working) from the river channel bottom – end of April 2015.
Excavator mixing saw dust into the river sediment to help solidify the material for transport off-site.
Six pumps in place for the river diversion of the Upper Fens Pond.
Brookline Avenue Culvert at the former Sears Parking Lot, with river diversion sheeting removed and plantings on the banks of the constructed FRM channel.
Granite veneer installed and continued backfilling behind the wing wall and shaping of the Flood Risk Management (FRM) channel on the northside.
Filling of the left side (looking downstream) of the FRM channel is complete, awaiting the extraction of the river diversion sheeting. Note that both banks have been planted; and plantings will continue. Note also the footings for the permanent steel handrail at the culvert headwall.
Granite veneer installed and continued backfilling behind the wing wall and shaping of the Flood Risk Management (FRM) channel on the northside.
Note the beginning of plantings on the left bank, looking downstream.
Note the plantings on the banks and on the historic Olmsted Island.
Note the shaping of the bank on the northside to construct the FRM channel and the beginning of planting on the southside of the channel.
Filling of the northside of the FRM channel once the lower portion of the channel was constructed; note the continued planting on the southside of the bank of the channel.
Note the installation of the temporary landscape protection fencing in the location of the construction access gate, which will no longer be used.
Note the new loam on impacted landscaped areas, ready for hydroseed; and the installed temporary landscape protection fencing.
Note the installation of the temporary landscape protection fencing in the location of the construction access gate, which will no longer be used.
Concrete placement for the right (looking downstream) wing wall pile cap for the new precast concrete Riverway Culvert – early July 2015.
Note the geocells and turf reinforcement mattress being installed – early July 2015.
Flood Risk Management Channel created downstream of Avenue Louis Pasteur – awaiting installation of articulated concrete blocks for downstream scour protection – early July 2015.
Bank stabilization/construction with stone protection; geocells; loam; and turf reinforcement mattress at Upper Fens Pond – early July 2015.
Right (looking downstream) concrete pile cap curing; and reinforcement and formwork being installed at the left pile cap for the new precast concrete Riverway Culvert – mid July 2015.
Completed bank protection/restoration at left bank of Upper Fens Pond – awaiting plantings in the Fall – late July 2015.
Upstream of Existing Avenue Louis Pasteur – View of existing concrete junction box and twin 72” culverts – late July 2015.
A line of steel sheeting acts as the installed Flow Restriction Control Structure (FRCS) – about 100’ upstream of the existing Riverway Intake Structure – end July 2015.
Forms for the pile caps stripped; and invert slab curing in advance of the new precast concrete Riverway Culvert placement – early August 2015.
The cofferdam allows for the continued flow of the river on one side while sediment removal/bank restoration takes place on the other side – early August 2015.
Support of excavation installed; excavation of hole has begun; one of the existing 72” culverts selectively demolished to investigate its condition – early August 2015.
Precast concrete culvert section being placed for the new Riverway Culvert – 12 August 2015.
Location of where the existing twin 72” culverts begin. Note the excavation to daylight the area between Upper Fens Pond and Avenue Louis Pasteur has begun – mid October 2015.
Note the new traffic signal and new ornamental streetlight in the background – mid October 2015.
Steel sheeting installed for the river diversion in the pre-excavated trench. Note the box-out for the existing storm drainage system – mid October 2015.
Note the new invert slab and the formwork and rebar for the wingwalls of the new precast concrete culvert extension – early October 2015.
Pre-excavation in the former Sears Parking Lot for the river diversion steel sheeting line – note the removal of the temporary utilities line – early October 2015.
A new tree is planted as part of the bank restoration work – late September 2015.
ACB’s installed for channel bottom scour protection; stone protection and turf reinforced mattress installed for bank stabilization/restoration; and loam placed ready for plantings to complete this area of work – early September 2015.
Grading and excavating of the flood risk management (FRM) channel on the southside downstream of the FRCS – mid September 2015.
Line of steel sheeting installed as the Flow Restriction Control Structure (FRCS). Note the two weir opening in the sheeting to allow continuous flow over the structure; constructed walkway for maintenance of this structure; and scour protection of the FRCS with stone – early September 2015.
ACB’s installed for channel bottom scour protection; stone protection and turf reinforced mattress installed for bank stabilization/restoration; and loam placed ready for plantings to complete this area of work – early September 2015.
Sediment is removed from inside the culvert and installation of the articulated concrete blocks (ACB) has begun – late August 2015.
Completed sediment removal from inside the existing Avenue Louis Pasteur culvert revealed an existing timber flooring – late August 2015.
Note the crane is lifting the Riverway precast concrete culverts into place – 12 August 2015.
Note the granite veneer installed on the precast culvert and the wingwall that cannot be completed until the existing twin 72” culverts are removed – mid October 2015.
Shrubs and plants are planted as part of the bank restoration work – mid October 2015.
Excavation of the area between Upper Fens Pond and Avenue Louis Pasteur to daylight and begin construction of the Flood Risk Management Channel – mid October 2015.
Installation of a precast concrete culvert section. Note the attached granite veneer on the culvert face and the formwork and rebar for the wingwalls on either side of the precast culvert – mid October 2015.
Note the excavation downstream of the new Riverway Culvert to construct the new river channel to return the Muddy River to its natural state – early November 2015.
Note the existing timber piling on the left side which delineates the side of the existing twin 72” culverts that were recently removed as part of the daylighting efforts – early November 2015.
Plantings as part of the bank restoration work in the fall planting season completed – herbivore exclusion fence and habitat boulders installed – early November 2015.
New granite veneer being installed on the façade of the new precast concrete culvert sections and new wingwalls of the Avenue Louis Pasteur Culvert extension – early November 2015.
Daylighting of area between – note the recreation of the historic Olmsted island (foreground right) starting to take shape – early November 2015
Excavation and shaping of the right (looking downstream) bank of the new river channel downstream of the new Riverway Culvert – mid November 2015.
Equipment lowering sections of Articulated Concrete Blocks (ACBs) in place for scour protection downstream of the new Riverway Culvert – mid November 2015.
Installation of the Articulated Concrete Blocks (ACBs) for scour protection downstream of the new Riverway Culvert – mid November 2015.
Filling of the north side of the FRM channel once the lower portion of the channel was constructed; note the continued planting on the south side of the bank of the channel
Note the shaping of the bank on the northside to construct the FRM channel and the beginning of planting on the south side of the channel.
Granite veneer installed and continued backfilling behind the wing wall and shaping of the Flood Risk Management (FRM) channel on the northside.
Backfilling continues behind the wing wall and shaping of the Flood Risk Management (FRM) channel on the northside.
Installing granite veneer on the northwest wing wall.
Northwest wing wall cast and backfilling behind the headwall.
Filling of the left side, looking downstream, of the FRM channel once the lower portion of the channel was constructed; note the continued planting on the south side of the bank of the channel.
Aerial of a precast concrete culvert section being lowered into position in the Riverway work area for the Muddy River Flood Risk Management project, Boston, Massachusetts.
Precast concrete culvert section being lowered into position onto the concrete pile caps as part of the Muddy River Flood Risk Management project, Boston, Massachusetts.
Precast concrete culvert section being lowered into position on the pile cap against an already placed culvert section for the Muddy River Flood Risk Management project
Note also that a section of the granite veneer is in place.
Battered (sloped) steel pipe pile being installed at the Riverway work area as part of the Muddy River Flood Risk Management Project, Boston, Massachusetts.
Note the new Precast Culvert Headwall to the left of proposed sidewalk.
Additional lengths of pipe piles being welded onto already driven pipe piles at the Riverway work area, which is part of the Muddy River Flood Risk Management Project in Boston, Massachusetts.
Note the cast-in-place slab in front of the pipes where the permanent precast concrete junction box will sit.
The second section of 54-inch pipe is being dry-fit into place and has been cut to fit into the junction box opening where concrete will be placed to seal the pipe and the junction box opening.
(U.S. Army Corps of Engineers photo)
Sandbags are put across the Greenline tracks in Boston, Mass., as the Muddy River rises March 14, 2010. (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers photo)
Artist rendering of the Muddy River after the Flood Risk Management and Environmental Restoration Project is completed. (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers graphic)
Artist rendering of the Muddy River Flood Risk Management and Environmental Restoration Project is completed. (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers graphic)

Muddy River Flood Risk Management and Environmental Restoration

The Muddy River is a small waterway located in the Boston metropolitan area. Most of the 5.6 square mile watershed is located in the city of Boston and the town of Brookline, with a small portion located in the city of Newton. The 3.5 mile long Muddy River flows through the heart of Frederick Law Olmsted's famed "Emerald Necklace," one of the most carefully crafted park systems in America and the oldest remaining linear urban park system in the United States.

As a result of multiple floods, Boston's Parks and Recreation Department, working with the Boston Water and Sewer Commission, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the town of Brookline, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and non-profit community groups such as the Emerald Necklace Conservancy and Fenway Alliance developed a comprehensive master plan to identify and address issues affecting the Muddy River.

Concurrent with actions by the local communities, the Corps of Engineers was authorized to study the Muddy River by a series of legislative acts. The Water Resources Development Act of 1999 authorized the Corps to evaluate the city of Boston's 1999 Master Plan to determine whether the proposed flood risk management and environmental restoration improvements were in the Federal interest. The Corps' Draft Evaluation Report, dated June 2000, determined that the City's Master Plan met some of the requirements of a Federally-implementable plan. However, continued Corps involvement would require preparation of a decision document that evaluated alternatives, identified the plan that maximized net National Economic Development benefits, and satisfied the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).

Continued participation by the Corps was directed by Section 522 of the Water Resources Development Act of 2000. This Act authorized the Corps to carry out the project for flood damage reduction and environmental restoration, Muddy River, Brookline and Boston, substantially in accordance with the plans, and subject to the conditions, described in the Corps' draft evaluation report. In 2016 the aquatic ecosystem restoration element was deauthorized. The flood risk management portion is currently under construction.

The recommended plan consists of a combination of the 20-year flood risk management plan and extensive environmental dredging. The major features of the federally recommended plan include: improvements to protect against a flood with a return frequency of 20 years to include channel improvements, removal of undersized culverts, installation of two new culverts, and daylighting two sections (about 700 linear feet) of the Muddy River; dredging approximately 200,000 cubic yards of sediment from the Fens, Riverway, Leverett, Willow and Wards Ponds (the material will be dewatered on site and disposed of in licensed upland landfills); eradication of Phragmites from wetland and riparian areas by dredging and cutting/herbicide treatment; and preservation and restoration of the historic park shoreline and vegetation in construction areas.

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the city of Boston and town of Brookline will be the local sponsors of the project and will be responsible for long-term operation and maintenance of the project. This will include monitoring water quality, removal of future accumulations of sediment to maintain flood control, water quality, and sediment benefits, and monitoring to guard against recolonization by Phragmites.

For more information, please contact the Project Manager, by e-mail or by calling 978-318-8015.


- Updated: 27 January 2020

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