This page was updated April 2026

Although New England’s most prominent river, the Charles River, flows right through Wellesley, it can be easy for residents to forget all about the 3.9-mile section that winds from the South Natick line to Wellesley Hills.  In all, the Charles glides 80 miles from its starting point in Hopkinton, Mass. to its eventual merger with Boston Harbor.

It does so on a stealth path through Wellesley. No main driving thoroughfares in town move along the river’s path. And the Charles can be so narrow in certain sections that it might be mistaken for a stream.

Getting to know the river is well worth it, however. You just have to know a few access points to open up this wonderful resource and connection to the natural world.

Wellesley resident named to Charles River Watershed Assoc. board

The CRWA welcomes Wellesley resident Frank Hunnewell to its Board of Directors, along with Katie Garvey and Charlie Hagedorn.

Hunnewell has also served on the board of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, and the International Dendrological Research Institute, and on the board of advisors of the North Bennet Street School. He holds an AB from Harvard and an MBA from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth.

Wellesley on Level 2 drought status—water restrictions in place

At its Feb. 1, 2026 meeting, the Massachusetts Drought Management Task Force voted to place a Level 2 – Significant Drought status for our region. This limits outdoor watering to hand-held hoses or watering cans only. Sprinkler systems should not be used at this time. The State reviews drought conditions monthly, and we’ll notify customers through social media, our website, and the Town’s News and Announcements when restrictions change. Additional information and updates are also available on the State’s drought status webpage.

A drought is a period of drier-than-normal conditions that reduces water availability. While drought is often thought of and more noticeable in the summer months, drought can occur throughout the year. The state determines a drought by reviewing long-term data; in this case, conditions from August 2024 through December 2025 were analyzed.

While there have been minor improvements in some areas, drought conditions persist across much of Massachusetts. Local water supplies remain stable, but with reduced winter recharge, conserving water is essential.

Residents should limit outdoor water use, such as rinsing salt off vehicles or filling outdoor pools, to one day per week on Sundays. Residents are also encouraged to be mindful of indoor water use.

Update on CRWA’s “Cut the Crap” campaign

Nov. 14, 2025–Following a wave of public outrage over the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority’s (MWRA) recently-proposed plan to allow for sewage to continue to be dumped into the Charles River forever, the MWRA Board of Directors has tabled a scheduled vote on the proposal at its November 19 meeting.

“The public has responded loud and clear. No amount of sewage is acceptable to be dumped in our beloved Charles River,” said CRWA Executive Director Emily Norton. “We are glad to hear that MWRA is finally listening to public input and postponing a decision on this terrible proposal.”

During a meeting with its Board of Directors on Oct. 29, MWRA officials presented multiple options for addressing combined sewer overflows (CSOs) in the Charles, and recommended adopting the option that would increase sewage overflows by the largest amount.

CSOs are a key source of pathogen contamination to the Charles and are becoming more frequent as our climate changes. In these outdated sewer systems, stormwater and household/industrial wastewater are collected in the same pipes to be conveyed to a wastewater treatment plant, but during heavy rainstorms, the combined system cannot handle the excess polluted water and releases it into the river.

MWRA and the city of Cambridge are legally required to carry out an extensive CSO planning effort to address 9 of the 10 remaining CSO outfalls on the Charles, and must submit a preferred project option by the end of 2025. The national precedent for these plans, known as Long Term Control Plans, is to reduce the amount of sewage being discharged into a waterbody. MWRA proposing an increase was an unexpected outcome.

MWRA’s proposal recommended the state downgrade the legal classification of the Charles River. Massachusetts water quality standards currently classify the mainstem of the Charles as a “Class B” water body, which does not allow any CSOs. MWRA recommended a downgrade to a classification known as “Class B(CSO)” allowing it to dump sewage into the river forever.

MWRA is only allowed to dump sewage into the river today because of a variance it has received from MassDEP and U.S. EPA, which is intended to be a time-limited, interim measure while MWRA makes progress toward CSO elimination.

In April, CRWA launched its Cut The Crap campaign to create public awareness around CSOs and generate pressure on the MWRA and the City of Cambridge to stop sewage from polluting the Charles. Since then, nearly 8000 people have signed petitions or sent emails to the MWRA, urging them to “cut the crap” being dumped into the Charles River.

Did FEMA just put your Wellesley home onto a flood map?

Nov. 2025–In July, FEMA released updated flood maps across the Charles, Nashua, and Merrimack watersheds, and many residents are finding that their homes are now included in flood zones for the first time. Unfortunately, though these maps are used to inform government-backed mortgage lenders who require flood insurance for the property, they are not entirely accurate.

“We don’t use FEMA maps that much, and we encourage communities to also not use them for planning purposes,” said Julie Wood, climate resilience director at the Charles River Watershed Association. “I know there’s a regulatory structure around the National Flood Insurance Program that these maps are central to, and that’s, of course, critically important. But our focus is on climate resilience planning and planning for the future that we know is coming, and these FEMA maps are not a good tool for that.”

Homes in flood zones require pricey flood insurance. Don’t wait for your mortgage lender to contact you about that (and they will). Here’s a map that will tell you if, in FEMA’s opinion, you’re in a prime spot for flooding. Given what Wood says, a new designation could be worth fighting.

Canoeing/Kayaking

A good launch site for your small watercraft is at Elm Bank Reservation located at 900 Washington St., Wellesley. Take the paved road about 3/4 of the way around and look for the clearly marked canoe launch sign.

It’s bring your own boat here, and we recommend that you stick to non-motorized crafts. We’ve seen motorboats put in at Elm Bank, and as far as we know there’s no rule against doing so. But the river is generally quite low here, spiking in depth only in early spring and sometimes fall after heavy rains.

Cross country skiing, hiking along the Charles River

Elm Bank Reservation also offers a lovely, wide path that goes along the Charles River. Walkers, cross country skiers, and cyclists in the know love this peaceful, generally uncrowded stretch. Follow the paved road. When you pass the  second of two darling cottages on the Elm Bank property, look for the small parking lot. The lot is available to Elm Bank visitors.

Also, try out this hike that includes the Waban Arches and Sudbury Aqueduct

Picnicking on the Charles River

On the Wellesley/Newton line on River St. in Wellesley there are a couple of picnic tables and benches available for dining with a view. Pick up sandwiches, soups, and salads from Express Gourmet across the street (11 River St.); or an amazing roast beef sandwich at nearby Mark’s Pizza & Subs of Wellesley (10B Washington St./Rte. 16 east.)