Deer Island Signage
| Deer Island/Boston Harbor Islands |
Deer Island, Boston Harbor National Park Area
Managed by the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority |
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| Deer Island |
| Deer Island has served several social purposes over the years but perhaps none as honorable as its current responsivity - protecting Boston Harbor as one of the cleanest harbors in the United States. |
| The wastewater treatment plant located here has successfully halted the pollution of the harbor’s waters. Beginning as a court-ordered initiative, the facility is the central core of the Boston Harbor Project serving 43 communities in the metropolitan area. A gem in the eyes of environmentalists and water-quality activists, the state-of-the-art facility serves as a model for engineers and public works professionals around the world. |
| The lands surrounding the sewage treatment plant are open to the public as a part of the Boston Harbor Islands national park area. |
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| Boston Habor Islands |
| A National Park . |
| A visit to one of the Boston Harbor Islands offers a fresh perspective on downtown Boston, Massachusetts Bay, and ourselves. Over thousands of years these drumlin islands were home to American Indians. They were used as internment camps for Indians during King Philip’s War that began in 1675. |
| Here Europeans and their descendants set up farms, schools, hospitals, inns, and much more. Today the islands feature abundant natural beauty, a Civil War for, and the oldest lighthouse site in the United States. The islands are managed by a variety of agencies and organizations that are reinventing the way America manages its national parks. |
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| Building of Logan Airport |
Deer Island, Boston Harbor National Park Area
Managed by the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority |
| Logan International Airport is one of the most important transportation facilities in New England. Passenger and air cargo services link travelers and shippers to destinations around the United States and the world. More than 25 million passengers use the airport every year. |
| Much of the area encompassed by the airport was once Apple Island, Governors Island, Wood Island Park, Bird Island Flats, and Boston Harbor. Over the decades new land was created for terminals, taxiways, and runways in the same way areas of downtown Boston were created – with loads of fill from road excavations and other materials." |
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| Building Harbor and Skyline |
Deer Island, Boston Harbor National Park Area
Managed by the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority |
| Something old, something new. From sailing ships to airplanes and skyscrapers, Boston’s bustling waterfront reflects the city’s roots and its enduring reputation as one of America’s leading ports and commercial centers. |
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| Wastewater Treatment |
Deer Island, Boston Harbor National Park Area
Managed by the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority |
| The wastewater from 43 communities – nearly half of the state’s population – is piped here to Deer Island to be treated in this plant/ That amounts to 370 million gallons of sewage daily, enough to fill the 750-foot Prudential Building three times each day. |
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| Rememberance |
Deer Island, Boston Harbor National Park Area
Managed by the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority |
| Prisons, hospitals, a reform school, a fort, and other facilities have been located at various times on Deer Island. As a result, many people died of illness while they were here. For many years Deer Island had two cemeteries. One for prisoners and hospital patients. The other for military personnel, including Confederate officers who had been imprisoned on the islands. Before Fort Dawes was constructed during World War II, some remains were moved to Fort Devens on the mainland. The other graves were relocated here at the New Rest Haven Cemetery. |
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| Shirley Gut |
Deer Island, Boston Harbor National Park Area
Managed by the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority |
| A water passageway known as Shirley Gut once separated Deer Island from the mainland. For many years this strait served as a backdoor for ships entering and leaving Boston Harbor. A doubtful piece of folklore even has the U.S.S. Constitution, now berthed at the Charlestown Navy Yard, sailing through Shirley Gut to avoid a British blockade in the War of 1812. Over the years shifting sands made the gut impassable, and a hurricane in 1938 linked Deer Island with Point Shirley. The Army Corps of Engineers built the connecting road three years later. |
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| Out to Sea |
Deer Island, Boston Harbor National Park Area
Managed by the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority |
| After sewage is treated in the Deer Island plant, the cleaned wastewater is pumped through a 9.5-mile tunnel out into the deep waters of Massachusetts Bay. There, more than 50 diffusers sitting on the ocean floor discharge the effluent and mix it with seawater. The treatment-and-dilution process is designed to prevent the effluent from harming the bay’s ecosystem – a major turnabout from the old plant that emptied sewage directly into the shallow waters of Boston Harbor! To avoid new pollution problems, the MWRA routinely test the bay’s waters and fish to assure that water quality standards are met. |
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| Disgesters |
Deer Island, Boston Harbor National Park Area
Managed by the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority |
| Standing out for many miles away, the egg-shaped digesters are now symbolic landmarks of the gateway to Boston Harbor. After the sludge is separated from the wastewater here on Deer Island, it is processed in the huge digesters maintained at body temperature (98degF). The mixing and heating of bacteria and sludge breaks down contaminants and reduces the volume of solids and produces methane gas. Stored in the two geodesic dome tanks, the gas eventually fuels a boiler to make steam that helps produce electricity and heat the plant. The remaining sludge – which is 94 percent water – is piped to Quincy, where it is dewatered and turned into fertilizer pellets. |
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| Neighboring Islands |
Deer Island, Boston Harbor National Park Area
Managed by the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority |
| The Graves |
| Calf Island |
| Great Brewster Island |
| Little Brewster Island |
| Deer Island Light |
| Lovells Island |
| Nixs Mate |
| Georges Island |
| Gallops Island |
| Long Island |
| Spectacle Island |
| Thompson Island |
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| Boston Harbor Islands/Deer Island |
Deer Island, Boston Harbor National Park Area
Managed by the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority |
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| Boston Habor Islands |
| A National Park . |
| A visit to one of the Boston Harbor Islands offers a fresh perspective on downtown Boston, Massachusetts Bay, and ourselves. Over thousands of years these drumlin islands were home to American Indians. They were used as internment camps for Indians during King Philip’s War that began in 1675. |
| Here Europeans and their descendants set up farms, schools, hospitals, inns, and much more. Today the islands feature abundant natural beauty, a Civil War for, and the oldest lighthouse site in the United States. The islands are managed by a variety of agencies and organizations that are reinventing the way America manages its national parks. |
|
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| Deer Island |
| Deer Island has served several social purposes over the years but perhaps none as honorable as its current responsivity – protecting Boston Harbor as one of the cleanest harbors in the United States. |
| The wastewater treatment plant located here has successfully halted the pollution of the harbor’s waters. Beginning as a court-ordered initiative, the facility is the central core of the Boston Harbor Project serving 43 communities in the metropolitan area. A gem in the eyes of environmentalists and water-quality activists, the state-of-the-art facility serves as a model for engineers and public works professionals around the world. |
| The lands surrounding the sewage treatment plant are open to the public as a part of the Boston Harbor Islands national park area. |
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| Judge A. David Mazzone Park |
Deer Island, Boston Harbor National Park Area
Managed by the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority |
| From 1985 to 2004, Judge A. David Mazzone presided over the federal lawsuit brought by conservationists and others condemning the state of Boston Harbor. His landmark rulings led to a massive public works project to restore the Harbor s as a spectacular natural resource. The Boston Harbor clean-up is recognized as one of the nation’s greatest environmental success stories – a far cry from the Harbor’s notoriety in the 1980s as “the filthiest harbor in America.” |
| For 19 years, Judge Mazzone closely monitored every aspect of the clean-up project, from design and planning to financing and construction. “The Judge” was a familiar face on Deer Island often visiting the site to check on progress and encourage the workers. When given credit for the Harbor’s restoration, Judge Mazzone always recognized the many contributors whom he admired; the thousands of construction workers and “sandhogs” who built Deer Island’s treatment plant and tunnels, the MWRA operators and managers who run and maintain it, and the many lawyers, officials, and citizen advocates involved in the lawsuit and clean-up. |
| At the beginning of the project, Judge Mazzone ruled that “the law secures to the people the right to a clean harbor.” So whether you are here to walk, jog, bike, fish, or just enjoy the breathtaking views of the city and the sea, please take a moment to think Judge Mazzone for ensuring that your right will be protected for generations to come. |
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