Depollution Price Tag Runs into the Millions

Depoluting the Charles River is going to cost lots of money--millions and millions--the Cambridge City Council was told yesterday.

One of the major problems that river side communities face is eliminating sewer lines that carry both rain water and waste material. During storms, these lines often overflow and carry untreated sewage into the Charles.

But the expense of replacing this single line with a dual system--one to carry the rain water, the other to carry the waste--can run into the millions, City Manager John J. curry '19 told the Council. He quoted an official of the Metropolitan District Commission as estimating that Boston would need $50 million to convert to a duel system.

Curry said that he had made no estimate of how much it would cost to change in Cambridge. About 20 per cent of the sewer lines carry both waste and storm water, he explained.