By Jillian Farrel -- March 15, 2010
Several roads, schools and businesses are shut down due to the torrential rainfall in the Massachusetts area. For example, varying sections of Furnace Brook Parkway in Quincy were shut down and motorists are urged to take alternative routes. Some schools were closed in the Greater Boston communities, include Belmont High School.
Gov. Deval Patrick, said "the sheer volume of water is the number one problem right now." Patrick said the rainstorm has caused significant floodwater in Waltham, Lawrence, and Melrose. Patrick declared a state of emergency today for the entire state.
Because of the heavy rain, the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority was forced to empty untreated sewage into Quincy Bay for the first time since 2005. The MWRA released the waste this afternoon around 12:30 p.m. with its overflowing Nut Island plant.
The MWRA spokesman, Ria Convery, said "the controlled release is mostly water and is permitted under environmental regulations in an emergency."
Mayor Thomas Menino, said "the high tide today presents a potential flooding threat, which we are watching closely." In addition, he said "teams are assessing what measures to put in place to prevent excessive flooding and damages to help protect our neighborhoods through the duration of this storm."
The Nut Island plant, which feeds the Deer Island plant, has been running at capacity for 48 hours. During those hours, the plant housed 1.3 billion gallons of flow, as opposed to the normal 360 million on a typical day.
The rainfall has also affected civilian households. Officials said more than 2,000 calls have been made concerning rain-related problems, such as basement floods.
The cause of the storm is a northeaster sitting off the coast of Long Island that has poured several inches of rain over Massachusetts, mainly in Essex and Middlesex counties.
Charlie Foley, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Taunton, said "the storm should wrap up around 8 or 9 p.m. tonight, and sunny skies will return on Tuesday.
