As the end of the century approached, the Boston Harbor Clean-Up was near completion. With 98 percent complete, the cost was nearly 3.5 billion dollars.

At first people were skeptical about the Harbor Clean-Up, and these people had every right to be concerned about a project of the size, initially the plans were for the residents of Greater Boston to pay for the majority of the project through increased sewer rates. However, the agency that was over seeing the clean-up, Massachusetts Water Resources Agency (MWRA), revamped their management and came up with a cost effective solution that lead to a dramatic reduction in cost.

A project of this magnitude has brought about many innovations and technological breakthroughs that maintained a budget that not only meet projected costs, it was lower. To learn most about the cost and the funding of the Boston Harbor Clean-Up, simply click here.