OWNERSHIP
CONDITIONS
CONTEXT
HISTORY
ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES

OWNERSHIP:
Bussey Brook runs through land owned by the City of Boston in Allandale Woods of Jamaica Plain, land owned by the Hebrew Rehabilitation Center of Roslindale, and land owned by the City of Boston and leased for at least a thousand years to the Arnold Arboretum at Harvard University in Jamaica Plain.

Back to top

CONDITIONS:
General route:
Bussey Brook originates in Allandale Woods. Its headwaters are the storm drainage system in the Walnut Hills section of Brookline. For a two to two-and-a-half mile stretch, the brook runs above ground, mostly through Allandale Woods and the Arnold Arboretum. It runs from west to east and joins the Stony Brook Conduit underground just southwest of the Forest Hills MBTA Station near Washington Street.

Detailed route:
Water from the Bussey Brook flows through a 90-acre, wooded urban wild known as Allandale Woods that is protected by conservation easements. The brook then flows through the parking lot of the Hebrew Rehabilitation Center where it has narrow, somewhat vegetated banks that immediately give way to a sprawling asphalt lot. The contaminated run-off from cars and the parking lot goes directly into the brook during rainy periods. Because these surfaces are impermeable to water, heavy rains will immediately produce a much more significant amount of water in the streambed than they would in a forested area.

The Bussey Brook would naturally drain toward Washington Street east of the Arnold Arboretum. However, the commuter rail is located here, and the land along which the train runs has been built up. Thus, the Brook drains into what is referred to as the Bussey Brook urban wild or the South Street parcel of the Arnold Arboretum instead. This area has remained undeveloped and serves as an important impoundment area for stormwater.

Back to top

CONTEXT:
Bussey Brook is one of a few bodies of running water in the Heart of the City that has not been culverted. The other major "above ground" brook in the area is called Canterbury Brook, and that brook is contaminated. The Bussey Brook connects Allandale Woods to the Arnold Arboretum. The South Street parcel of the Arnold Arboretum is managed in large part to handle overflow from Bussey Brook during periods of heavy rainfall. The Brook also feeds into Stony Brook, which is the major body of running water in the area.

Back to top

HISTORY:
Bussey Brook was formerly known as Sawmill Brook. It runs through what was in the mid-1800s the property of Benjamin Bussey, who bequeathed his country estate to Harvard College for public use. This land is now the Arnold Arboretum and the college renamed the brook for its benefactor.

Back to top

ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES:
Although the brook has high fecal content from dogs and squirrels in the area, it is not contaminated and two of its tributaries have excellent water quality. One of them, which is located within the Arnold Arboretum, is informally known as "Rockery Spring." For the most part, the brook is surrounded by vegetated land that effectively protects the water quality. The section of the brook that flows through the Hebrew Rehabilitation Center, however, compromises water quality. Also, according to parking guards who work at the Center, when heavy rains come the parking lot becomes flooded and the demand for parking cannot be met.

Back to top