How Boston Harbor went from America’s dirtiest to cleanest in just 31 years

Boston Harbor’s Journey from Wartime Glory to Environmental Redemption

Boston Harbor once held two titles: America’s filthiest waterway and a WWII shipbuilding giant.

In 1982, raw sewage on Wollaston Beach sparked a lawsuit that grew into a 31-year court battle. Meanwhile, the harbor had a proud past.

During WWII, the Boston Navy Yard grew from 3,875 workers to over 50,000, with 8,000 women welders and electricians helping build 303 vessels for the Allies.

The yard earned Navy “E” awards yearly while cutting destroyer build time from two years to seven months. Today, Boston Harbor stands clean after a $4.7 billion transformation you can witness firsthand.

Raw Sewage Sparked a Legal Battle That Changed Everything

In December 1982, Quincy City lawyer William Golden spotted raw sewage washing up on Wollaston Beach. Angry, he sued the Metropolitan District Commission for breaking the Clean Water Act.

Judge Paul Garrity picked Harvard Law professor Charles Haar to look into it. Haar’s 500-page report showed how badly the sewage system failed.

The Conservation Law Foundation filed their own lawsuit in 1983, and the EPA joined two years later, putting pressure on state officials.

Judge Mazzone’s Ruling Made Cleanup Non-Negotiable

Federal Judge A. David Mazzone took over in May 1985, combining all cases into one big lawsuit. His ruling turned the cleanup from a wish into a must-do court order.

The Massachusetts Legislature had already created the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority in December 1984 to replace the failing MDC.

This new agency could issue bonds and raise water rates from 43 towns. Mazzone set firm deadlines in December 1985 that officials couldn’t ignore.

America’s Filthiest Harbor Was a National Embarrassment

Two overloaded plants at Nut and Deer Islands pumped 350 million gallons of barely-cleaned wastewater into Boston Harbor daily.

Workers dumped 70 tons of sewage sludge straight into the water each day. Beaches closed often, fish got sick with tumors, and both fishing and swimming became risky.

Heavy rains caused sewers to release 3 billion gallons yearly. The harbor got called “America’s dirtiest” during the 1988 presidential race.

Navy Picked Boston to Build Its Destroyer Fleet

In 1932, the Navy chose Boston Navy Yard as its main site for building destroyers. The USS McDonough launched in 1934, ending a ten-year gap with no ships built there.

By September 1939, as war broke out in Europe, the yard had finished six new destroyers. Workers grew from 3,875 in January 1939 to 18,272 by summer 1941.

They also fixed up 18 World War I destroyers for the British Royal Navy under the Destroyers for Bases Agreement.

Pearl Harbor Attack Created Urgent Need for Ships

The December 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor threw America into World War II. Navy boss Frank Knox sent a message asking for maximum ship production.

The Navy picked Boston in January 1942 to build a new type of destroyer escort made to hunt submarines. The existing 17,000 workers couldn’t handle all the work.

Yard managers hired previously excluded workers, including women, Black Americans, retirees, and disabled men to meet wartime needs.

Women Welders and Electricians Transformed the Workforce

By mid-1943, over 50,000 people worked at Boston Navy Yard and its sites in Chelsea, South Boston, and East Boston. Women made up between 15 and 20 percent, with more than 8,000 working in 1943.

These women, nicknamed “SWONs,” took jobs as welders, electricians, pipefitters, painters, and machine operators.

Managers kept them apart from Navy staff and put them mainly on new shipbuilding. Peggy Citarella broke barriers as the first female welder at Charlestown Navy Yard.

Boston Shipyard Workers Broke Speed Records Building Warships

The year 1943 marked top production with 50,128 workers. Boston led the nation in destroyer escort building that year.

More destroyer escorts launched from Charlestown than any other shipyard in America by the end of 1943.

Workers set speed records, with the USS Charrette and USS Conner going from keel to launch in just 93 days.

The USS Heywood L. Edwards went from keel to ready for service in only 200 days.

Navy Gave Boston Yard Top Awards Every Year of the War

Between September 1939 and the end of World War II in 1945, Boston Navy Yard launched 303 vessels. Workers also readied another 120 ships built at private yards.

The yard got Navy “E” awards for excellence every year of the war. Build time for destroyers dropped from two years in 1941 to just seven months by 1943.

Crews also fixed up 1,108 vessels during the war years, keeping the Allied fleets fighting.

Engineers Built a Massive New Treatment System

MWRA stopped dumping floating trash and scum into the harbor in 1989.

Workers ended sludge dumping in December 1991, using a Quincy facility to turn sludge into fertilizer instead.

A new treatment plant at Deer Island started working in 1995, properly cleaning wastewater for the first time.

Engineers built a 9.5-mile tunnel to carry treated water into Massachusetts Bay. Combined sewer overflow releases got cut in half from 3 billion to 1.5 billion gallons yearly.

Massive Tunnel Completed the Treatment System Overhaul

The 9. 5-mile outfall tunnel finished in 2000, ending discharge into shallow harbor waters.

Treated effluent now flows into deep Massachusetts Bay waters with ongoing environmental monitoring. The Boston Harbor Project cost reached $3.8 billion.

An additional $900 million Combined Sewer Overflow Project replaced the regional system. MWRA completed 35 construction projects with more than 80 contracts, replacing 100 miles of pipes throughout the system.

Judges Kept Watch Over the Cleanup for Three Decades

Judge A. David Mazzone oversaw the case from 1985 until his death in October 2004.

Judge Richard G. Stearns took over in September 2004, maintaining the same vigilant court supervision.

Stearns issued the 239th compliance order in July 2016, declaring the construction phase complete after 31 years of litigation.

The total cost of both court-mandated projects reached $4.7 billion.

The harbor transformed from the nation’s dirtiest to one of its cleanest, with beaches open for swimming and fishing restored to safe levels.

Visiting Boston Harbor, Massachusetts

You can explore Boston Harbor’s incredible transformation from polluted waters to clean harbor at the Charlestown Navy Yard Visitor Center on 21 Second Ave.

It’s free and open Tuesdays-Sundays 10am-6pm May through mid-October, then Wednesdays-Sundays 10am-4pm. Bring photo ID for the security checkpoint.

For deeper history, book Deer Island treatment plant tours at 617-660-7607 or take Boston Harbor Lighthouse Cruises for $41 on select weekends.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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