Needham and Dedham residents who want a say in how sewage overflows into the Charles River are handled have three chances to speak up before an Oct. 30 deadline.

The Charles River Watershed Association (CRWA) is urging the public to attend upcoming hearings on the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority's (MWRA) draft plan for controlling combined sewer overflows, or CSOs. The overflows release untreated sewage into the Charles during heavy rainstorms and have grown more frequent as storms intensify, according to CRWA.

The MWRA and the cities of Cambridge and Somerville are hosting the three sessions:

• Thursday, Sept. 17, 6–8 p.m.: In person at Cambridge City Hall, Sullivan Chambers, 795 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, with a virtual option via Zoom.
• Thursday, Sept. 24, 1–3 p.m.: Virtual only via Zoom.
• Wednesday, Oct. 28, 6–8 p.m.: In person at Somerville City Hall Council Chambers, 93 Highland Ave., Somerville, with a virtual option via Zoom.

The hearings are part of a legally required planning effort to address nine of the ten remaining CSO outfalls on the Charles, six outfalls along Alewife Brook and one on the Mystic River. After the Oct. 30 comment period closes, the plan goes to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for review and then to the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) for final approval, according to a CRWA press release.

CRWA has been sharply critical of the draft plan, which was released in April. The organization said the proposal would allow sewage dumping to continue for decades.

"People are shocked to learn we are still allowing sewage to be dumped into the Charles … We call on our regulators to tell the MWRA, no, you cannot continue to use the Charles as a toilet," CRWA Executive Director Emily Norton said at a Sept. 8 rally at the Charles River Esplanade in Boston. Four organizations gathered under the banner "Cut the Crap."

The clock is ticking. CRWA called the hearings its final chance to rally public pressure before the comment window closes.

State Rep. Greg Schwartz, a physician, also spoke at the rally. Schwartz has filed legislation that would require an end to combined sewer overflows statewide by 2050. The bill was in the House Committee on Ways and Means as of August 2026.

Residents who cannot attend in person can join the Sept. 17 and Oct. 28 sessions virtually. Zoom links and registration details are available on CRWA's website at crwa.org.