Aberjona River Stormwater Project Aims To Alleviate Area Flooding

WOBURN, MA - An ongoing stormwater project in Reading may soon see an infusion of federal spending.

That marks good news for local officials, who have said the project could help alleviate flooding and pollution conditions for more than 250,000 people in communities around the Aberjona River, including Woburn.

“This is a critical initiative that will make the community more sustainable and resilient,” Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Salem) said in a statement this week.

Moulton will visit Reading on Tuesday to spotlight the stormwater project, which will largely take place within the town's Maillet, Sommes and Morgan Conservation Land. Moulton will be in the conservation area for a press conference beginning at 1 p.m.

Currently in its design phase, the stormwater project will help reduce flooding, expand trail systems and strengthen wildlife habitats in the area around the Maillet, Sommes & Morgan Conservation Land if its next steps get funded, according to Reading town officials. Plans propose accomplishing this through a variety of means, including new constructed wetlands, pipes and culverts.

The project will aim to help filter sediment and pollutants out of stormwater before it flows downstream along the Aberjona River, officials say.

The river begins in Reading before flowing south through Winchester and Woburn toward the Mystic Lakes. Its watershed also includes portions of Burlington, Wilmington, Wakefield, and Stoneham.

Roughly $1.5 million in federal money has been allocated to the Sommes & Morgan Conservation Land project as part of a $16 million package going to Moulton’s sixth Massachusetts Congressional District under a recent version of annual congressional appropriations bills.

Approved by the House of Representatives in a vote last month, these bills are still awaiting full congressional approval.

Learn more about the Maillet, Sommes and Morgan project through the Reading town website.