Massachusetts is dumping sewage into waterways. Grassroots organizations are fighting back
April 22, 2026
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) — When Ann McDonald went kayaking several weeks after a 2024 rainstorm, she thought the water in the Alewife Brook just outside Boston was safe. Even though sewage discharges into the brook during heavy storms, public health officials recommended waiting just 48 hours after rain for bacteria levels to drop — so when McDonald’s kayak got stuck in debris, she wasn’t concerned about dipping her arms into the water to free herself.
Later that afternoon, she fell sick with diarrhea. She attributes it to sewage in the water.
“I got stuck in some really stinky water,” she said. “I’m naive, and I thought I was above all this.”