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Daylong Panel Sheds Light on Quequechan

Deborah Allard-Bernardi, Herald New Staff Reporter - 11/21/2004

Hidden but not forgotten, the Quequechan River, which flows through pipes beneath the city, was referenced Saturday during a statewide environmental conference titled "Urban Rivers and their Neighborhoods."  Agencies and organizations throughout the state attended the daylong event at the Great Hall of the International Institute of Culinary Arts to stress the importance of revitalizing urban rivers and their surrounding communities.

Daylighting the Quequechan River is a long-term goal of the city, and of Green Futures, which sponsored the conference along with the Urban Ecology Institute.

Mayor Edward M. Lambert Jr. gave an opening address to participants to acquaint them with the city and the Quequechan River, which was bottled up in 1962 to make way for Interstate 195. The name means "falling water" in the Wampanoag Indian language, lending the city its name.  Prior to the river's concealment, Lambert said the community once "saw its lifeblood in the falling river" as it powered Fall River's granite-built mills and "fueled our economy," making this city the textile capital of the world.

The Quequechan flowed through the downtown area and into a waterfall that was located across the street from the Herald News building on Pocasset Street. When the Quequechan was no longer needed, it was diverted into a culvert and buried beneath concrete, where it flows out to Crab Pond and the Taunton River. What remains of the river above ground today can be seen from Britland Park on Pleasant Street.

"It has not gotten the attention it deserves," said Lambert. "It's something our activism and your presence today can change."

Green Futures President Tim Bennett said holding the conference in Fall River was "quite appropriate," due to the efforts in this city to clean up and daylight its hidden river.

Some of the agencies and organizations in attendance included the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Massachusetts Environmental Trust, Massachusetts Audubon Society, Trust for Public Land, the city of Chicopee, the city of Easthampton, Massachusetts Highway Department, Chelsea Green Space and Groundwork Lawrence.

Also in attendance were several legislators, including state Rep. Michael J. Rodrigues D-Westport, a representative from Fall River state Sen. Joan Menard's office, Westport Selectman David Dionne and Joseph Carvalho, representing the Coalition for the Responsible Siting of LNG Facilities.

The conference brought together officials and activists to consider successful approaches to realize the potential of urban rivers, creating greenways and trails to link rivers to their neighborhoods, and to focus on political advocacy and project funding.

Lois Adams of the Environmental Protection Agency and assistant to the Office of Civil Rights and Urban Affairs was the keynote speaker. "There's really not enough attention afforded to urban rivers," said Adams. She stressed that cleaning up a river with visible and invisible problems and pollution "is difficult to do" and is a "stubborn problem to solve" that can take years.

"These problems didn't get here in a day and they're not going to leave in a day," said Adams. Still, she said, it is doable. "It's your opportunity to affect change," she told attendees.

Speakers, panels and workshops made up the day and offered agencies and organizations the opportunity to bring ideas and enthusiasm for their projects back to the office on Monday. "It's a long road, but it's a road you can succeed on," said Adams.

Go to www.gfrpartners.com/04UrbanRivers.html for photos of this event courtesy of David Weed, Partners for A Healthier Community.

Also, on December 8, 2004, Green Futures and Urban Ecology Institute sponsored a report on rapid ecological assessments of seven sites along the Quequechan River completed over the summer of 2004. See photos and a description at www.gfrpartners.com/04QRiverReport.html courtesy of David Weed, Partners for a Healthier Community.

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