Special Topics: Engineering Boston

Water and sewer regulations; current water construction projects; rainfall data; reports and rate documents.

An online archive of reports from Boston's water and sewer commissions, as well as early proposals for the supply of pure water to the city. Covers the years 1834-present.

An interactive flood model from the Boston Water & Sewer Commission.

Search "sewer system" to retrieve an historical overview of the city's sewer and stormwater systems, from their beginnings to the present.

This UMass Boston website provides an overview of the origins of wastewater management in the city.

This 2014 scholarly paper covers the history of sewers and pipes from ancient times to the present.

This UMass Boston website discusses the history of this important wastewater pumping station which was completed in 1883. It was purchased by UMass Boston in 2011.

Provides a detailed description of the Boston sewer system up to 1885.

Regulations and publications on safe septic system and wastewater management.

This Mass. Water Resources Administration website offers an overview of the metro-Boston sewer system; discusses its wastewater treatment facilities and sewer programs; and provides articles on its sewer interceptor projects.

Describes experiments on the treatment of sewage in septic tanks and through sand filtration.

Describes the design of a sewage project for the southern metro-Boston area.

Provides a detailed description of the drainage and sewerage systems of metropolitan Boston and their ecological effects upon the Harbor.

A report on the use of Boston Harbor as the receptacle for the city's sewage. The practice continued until the cleanup of Boston Harbor in the 1990s.

A report on the sewage systems which emptied into the Charles and Mystic Rivers, as well as early experiments on the treatment of sewage with chemicals.

How sea level rise threatens to overwhelm Boston's stormwater system.

Describes the development of Boston's stormwater management system.