After a five-year closure due to soil contamination,the remediation process concludes at Conway Park.— Photo by Bobbie Toner

By Beatriz Leite

Last Thursday evening, the City of Somerville gathered through Zoom for the last community meeting to conclude the remediation process at Conway Park. The park and the adjective splash pad officially reopened on May 27 after being closed since 2018 after research revealed soil contamination.

Since the closure in 2018, the city of Somerville’s administration has worked closely with the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and has removed 8,700 tons of contaminated soil, to remediate the park to reach state and federal environmental standards.

The meeting focused on informing the citizens of Somerville of the progress made with the repairs as a way to ensure that they will now have a safe park to attend.

George Nastas gave context on the history of the site, which dates back to 1852. At that time a Bleachery and Dye Works establishment operated in the area and operated until the early 1930s. The field was created in the 40s and renovated in 1975, and once again in 2001.

After collecting over 700 soil samples from approximately 110 sampling locations researchers found PCB chemicals that were banned in the U.S. in 1979 because these chemicals harm human and environmental health.

The remedial plan started with a meeting with MassDEP and EPA and negotiating and analyzing the risk. The project had four phases. The site preparation was the first, involving traffic management and access. The second phase was the EPA remediation, where the PCB-contaminated soil was removed from the site. The area was then backfilled with soil that met state and federal health standards (less than 50 ppm PCBs). The third phase was the park reconstruction and renovation. The final phase consisted of restoration and tree planting.

After five years of cleaning and restoration, Conway Park is back and healthy for all Somerville residents.