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A forested leach field could be piloted on the Cambridge upland along Alewife Brook, between Route 2 and Massachusetts Avenue. Cambridge already has experience with densely planted native forests. Between Alewife Brook Parkway and the brook lies more than 60,000 square feet of mowed grass that could potentially support about 25,000 native tree and shrub saplings.

A pumping station could pretreat and lift a portion of the CSO water to the Alewife Living Forest, regulating the rate at which water enters the forest rather than subjecting it to the full pulse of a CSO event. Much as in a conventional leach field, the water could be distributed underground, where soil would provide further treatment while supporting thousands of native trees and shrubs.

A pilot would determine how much CSO water the system could safely receive, how it should be pretreated and distributed, and how treatment performance changes through the seasons.

The Alewife Living Forest could provide many public benefits beyond treating CSO water: habitat, shade and summer cooling, cleaner air, quieter surroundings, stormwater interception, and a healthier and more beautiful Alewife Greenway. Planting thousands of native saplings would be an investment not just in today's infrastructure, but in a forest that could grow and mature for generations.

The much-needed gray infrastructure comes first. The Alewife Living Forest asks whether living forest infrastructure can complement it and pick up where gray infrastructure leaves off.

Let?s find out what a forest can do.