The humble workings of the city’s infrastructure lie low to the ground, under one’s feet or vehicle tires, and out of the typical lines of sight: They are the cast-iron catch basins that sit along the streets and route stormwater drainage into an elaborate system that whisks heavy rains away from neighborhoods and into the Stony Brook, and the Charles and Neponset rivers.
Few notice them until there’s a problem, which typically means a frustrating flood event and urgent calls for help.
The critical role they play in the city environment is a key reason why the Boston Water and Sewer Commission (BWSC) keeps its crews on a tight schedule year-round cleaning the thousands of catch basins in Dorchester and Mattapan and the rest of the 30,000 in place across the city.
That role is also a key reason why the BWSC has just completed a full upgrade of its cleaning trucks with five made-to-order vehicles that help make the work quicker and easier.
Ricardo Bonilla operated the controls on the new catch basin cleaning truck as Ricardo Bryant foreground directs the work. Seth Daniel photo
“These trucks are built for Boston; they’re more versatile and are able to dig deeper into the catch basins,” said Ricardo Bonilla, a heavy equipment operator from Dorchester who spoke to The Reporter as he cleared out a catch basin along Talbot Avenue last month.
Sekou Brown, BWSC’s deputy director of operations, said the new trucks allow workers to get their jobs done in a more safe and comfortable manner. After an independent report in 2019 showed that the fleet was aging faster than anticipated, the agency began procuring the five custom trucks.
The last one was delivered late this year, and that has allowed two crews to be out in two shifts – cleaning up to 60 catch basins per day and more efficiently transporting the “muck” pulled out of the basins to a processing facility on Alford Street in Charlestown.
“It’s a real upgrade in safety, creature comforts, and operability,” Brown said. “They are quite the machines. It’s great for the ratepayers,” he added, noting that “even though we might say it’s slow during the winter, this is a 24/7, 365-day operation to keep things going. With more drainage and heavy rains, it’s non-stop. They are the most heavily used vehicles in the fleet.”
Operations Supervisor Ricardo Bryant, another Dorchester resident who works in tandem with Bonilla, agreed that catch basins – the gateway to the stormwater system – are more important than ever with sea level rise and more intense rainstorms throughout the year.
“We try to follow street cleaning, but we rely a lot on constituents,” he said. “It’s very important to get calls because with 30,000 or more catch basins, that kind of help and participation is key… It rains harder and longer. That’s part of the reason for us in upgrading to these trucks to stay ahead of it all.”
Ricardo Bonillo, at left, opened a manhole cover to get access to the catch basin in the foreground as Operations Supervisor Ricardo Bryant looks on. Seth Daniel photo
On Talbot Avenue that day, Bonilla and Bryant set up their new truck under the railroad bridge and then next to the commuter rail parking lot. After pulling the cast-iron grate off the basin opening, they maneuvered a clamshell shovel on a hydraulic pully system into the hole and pulled out a mix of dirt, grime, leaves, dog waste, and even some car keys.
“Dog waste is among the things we find in there, but I find all kinds of stuff,” said Bonilla as he operated the controls. “Yesterday someone dropped their keys in there. It happens, and we usually can come out and retrieve them. You’re not saving anyone’s life or anything, but you’re saving their day.”
Bryant noted that catch basins are typically 10 to 14 feet deep and pear-shaped. A runoff pipe at the top, with a protective hood to keep bottles out, allows water to flow out into the stormwater system, while the solids float to the bottom of the basin. Periodically, the cleaning crews come around to scoop out the solids and dispose of them.
Contrary to popular belief, catch basins have nothing to do with the sewer system, and nearly all of the stormwater system is now separated from the sewers. On Talbot Avenue, the stormwater drains into the Stony Brook, which empties into the Charles River Basin.
“People don’t understand how it works but these catch basins around here go all the way to American Legion Highway and Forest Hills,” Bryant said. “We have a culvert down at Canterbury Street and across from the Arboretum. It’s more complex than people might think it is. That’s why a system like this needs to be cared for and cleaned regularly.”
BWSC officials encourage neighbors during heavy snow events to shovel out the catch basins to prevent ice dams or street flooding, and also to clean out leaves and debris on top of the grates. To report a catch basin that needs cleaning, call BWSC operations at 617-989-7900.
Seth Daniel photos
Ricardo Bonilla, a Dorchester resident, pulled some “muck” out of a catch basin on Talbot Avenue near the commuter rail station last month. The new heavy-duty trucks help crews clean more catch basins more efficiently during every shift.
