Plan set to remedy city's low ground water

Mayor Thomas M. Menino and state Secretary for Commonwealth Development Douglas I. Foy are set to announce a plan today to combat dangerously low ground water levels under billions of dollars worth of Boston real estate.

In addition to an agreement among nine city and state agencies to coordinate their efforts, the city wants to require developers of projects of any size to demonstrate that they will not reduce ground water levels and that they will even help boost them.

''It's a historic moment," said Menino, who predicted that new proposals, ''even as small as a patio on a house, will have to go to the BRA for review to see what effect it has on ground water."

Menino said adding another Boston Redevelopment Authority requirement will not make the system more cumbersome for developers. ''It's protection, and long overdue."

Thousands of buildings in the Back Bay, the lower blocks of Beacon Hill, and elsewhere were built on wood pilings driven into the ground. The pilings remain strong almost indefinitely if they stay wet, but many have begun rotting as ground water levels have fallen.

Underground structures like tunnels and basements block water movement and contribute to the problem. Also, rainwater from buildings and pavement tends to be diverted into sewers rather than flowing back into the ground.

''How do we get developers moving forward, not to repeat the sins of the past, and help improve recharge?" James W. Hunt, chief of environment and energy for the city and a member of the mayor's cabinet, asked yesterday. Hunt is one of those scheduled to sign the agreement today.

The proposed zoning regulations on new development projects will be presented at public hearings and could take effect in about 60 days. They would require the proponents of projects that are 50 square feet or more in size or involve excavation to present a ground water plan at a public hearing.

''The zoning piece helps bring the Boston Redevelopment Authority into the solution and gets at smaller projects that tend to fly under the radar screen but cause big problems," said Elliott Laffer, executive director of Boston Groundwater Trust, a 19-year-old organization that addresses ground water problems and is funded by the city and state.

A memorandum of understanding to be signed this afternoon at City Hall by nine officials representing city and state agencies will go into effect immediately, committing all to participate in a working group to study the problem and try to find a solution.

Andrew Gottlieb, the state's undersecretary for development, said the goal is to protect Boston's buildings.

''There's a lot of contributing factors to some of the depressions of ground water we're seeing," Gottlieb said. ''The ability of any one agency or organization to solve the problem by itself is clearly limited, so a coordinated effort of government is necessary."

Agencies signing the agreement include the city's Office of Environmental and Energy Services, Boston Groundwater Trust, Massachusetts Water Resources Authority, Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, Executive Office of Environmental Affairs, and the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority.

Neighborhoods covered by the proposed regulations include the South End, Fenway, Back Bay, Beacon Hill, and Chinatown, where the problems have been the worst. Other neighborhoods could be added during the public comment period.

Laffer said the problem has been alleviated in a few places but overall is still serious. ''The physical situation isn't better yet, but the work toward understanding it and the commitment to solving it is a lot better," he said.

Menino is scheduled today to sign an ordinance passed yesterday by the Boston City Council that would expand the jurisdiction of the groundwater trust into all of Boston's affected neighborhoods. And he will announce the city has won a $200,000 award from the Environmental Protection Agency to help address the ground water problems.

More than 600 monitoring wells have been constructed in the city in the past three years.

Thomas C. Palmer Jr. can be reached at tpalmer@globe.com.