A new proposal by the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) to change the Charles River’s water-quality classification is sparking controversy, with advocates saying that sewage dumping could undo decades of cleanup. 

The plan announced at a meeting on Wednesday would declassify the Charles River as swimmable and allow sewage to flow into the water. 

Advocates were shocked to hear the news. 

“There could be more sewage, more trash, more debris, more odors,” she said. “We could be going back to what we worked so hard to improve,” said Laura Jasinski, executive director of the Charles River Conservancy.

The Charles River is now one of the cleanest urban rivers in the country, according to the MWRA. Jasinski says that the state of the river has come a long way.

“There was a time when people used to talk about the stench,” she said. “We used to get a ‘D’ letter grade, like on a report card, from the EPA. Back up to we’re getting a  ‘B’, ‘B+’ these days.” 

What would this mean for recreational activities?

Visitors like Rangan Gajural worry that the change could make it unsafe for recreational activities.

“I think it’s kind of disgusting,” he said. “I come over here to do paddleboating and canoeing. So this will definitely change my mind if it’s going to stink.” 

“It’s a place where people come to make memories. It’s a place where you can come and watch a sunset. People get engaged here,” Jasinski said. 

The MWRA says the proposal would not make the river less safe. 

In a statement, the agency said, “The draft plan as presented reflects a responsible approach that balances potential environmental benefits with rate impacts to all MWRA customer communities.” 

Officials said they are working with the cities of Cambridge and Somerville to reduce sewage overflows. The MWRA Board plans to discuss the proposal at its next meeting on Nov. 19.

Also Thursday, the girls’ volleyball tournament got started in earnest and field hockey continued with first-round matchups.

And, of course, all the scores live here.

▪ With a 32-0 win over Wakefield, Burlington football completed its first undefeated regular season since 2006.

▪ Cardinal Spellman senior captain Kaylee Perrault reached 500 career kills during a 3-0 preliminary-round win over Pope Francis in the Division 3 girls’ volleyball tournament.

Four conference champions were crowned on the gridiron, as Barnstable won the Southeast Conference outright with a 28-18 win over Bridgewater-Raynham, Amesbury routed Manchester Essex, 40-0, to claim the Cape Ann League crown, Scituate topped Hanover, 21-7, to share the Patriot League Fisher title with the Hawks, Abington shut out East Bridgewater, 20-0, to win the South Shore Sullivan, and Medfield rode another big Brady McCormack performance to a 30-12 victory over Norton and at least a share of the Tri-Valley League Small championship.

▪ Winthrop boys’ soccer finished its season with a 10-4-4 record Monday, marking the best winning percentage in program history and capturing the Northeastern Conference Lynch Division title for the first time.

Wednesday, the first day of the field hockey and girls’ volleyball tournaments, featured very few upsets. Thursday wasn’t much different.

In Division 1 field hockey, 22nd-seeded Wachusett knocked off No. 11 Natick, 1-0, behind a third-quarter goal from Lilli Mitchell and a 22-save shutout from Alyssa Davis.

The highest-seeded team to falter thus far in the girls’ volleyball tournament was Turners Falls, the 14th seed in Division 5. They were eliminated by No. 19 Avon, 3-0.

Ben Atherton, Ashland — The senior did it all, rushing for four touchdowns and throwing another one to Kevin Ozulumba in a 41-13 Tri-Valley League win over Norwood.

Will Bush, Swampscott — The senior captain found the end zone four times, rushing for 124 yards in a 33-0 Northeastern League win over Salem.

Brady McCormack, Medfield — If Takeaways had a loyalty program, McCormack would be racking up the points. Another big week saw the senior rumble for 221 yards and two touchdowns, adding a 95-yard kickoff return TD in a 30-12 Tri-Valley League win against Norton.

Austin Rodenhiser, Holliston — Arguably the night’s top performer, the senior rumbled for five touchdowns and 156 yards on just 13 carries, bulldozing the way for a 33-0 TVL win over Dedham.

Matthew Tasker, Lincoln-Sudbury — Noticing a pattern? This senior running back ran wild, scoring four times and piling up 153 yards on 23 carries in a 35-0 Dual County League win over Wayland.

Duxbury has a new softball coach: Charlie Finn. Previously a volunteer assistant at Marshfield, Finn has been an active member of the South Shore softball community, serving as head coach of the 16U Lady Rams travel team. He is also an assistant basketball and field hockey coach at Marshfield. He takes over a team coming off a 10-9 season and a loss in the second round of the Division 2 tournament under previous coach Mike Barba.

▪ Dartmouth College freshman women’s soccer player Anna Leschly, a 2025 Brookline graduate, was called up to the US Under-20 Women’s National Team for its fall training camp, which concluded Thursday at the University of Kansas. Leschly was one of 10 college players who joined 12 professionals and two club players.

▪ UMass Dartmouth senior Zuri Walters, a Boston Latin graduate from Dorchester, was named to the All-Little East Conference Second Team Singles for the second straight year. Walters went 6-6 at No. 1 singles, finding her stride midway through the tennis season with a 5-1 stretch starting in September.

Max Morin, Hanover, 170

Tim Durocher, Plymouth South, 141

Justin Dube, Abington, 100

Cole Doyle, North Quincy, 2

Michael Wildfire, Cohasset, 2

Brady McCormack, Medfield, 221

Jayson Dyer, Barnstable, 171

Austin Rodenhiser, Holliston, 156

Matthew Trasker, Lincoln-Sudbury, 153

Cameron Banda, Shawsheen, 137

Will Bush, Swampscott, 124

Erik Knight, Billerica, 120

Ty Holmes, West Bridgewater, 113

Austin Rodenhiser, Holliston, 5

Ben Atherton, Ashland, 4

Will Bush, Swampscott, 4

Matthew Trasker, Lincoln-Sudbury, 4

Noah Allen, Whittier, 3

Cameron Banda, Shawsheen, 3

Gianni DePrimeo, Winchester, 3

Gus Green, Cohasset, 3

Andrew Orphanos, Bishop Feehan, 3

Joe Puleo, Amesbury, 3

Ian Alexion, Fairhaven, 2

Jake Banda, Shawsheen, 2

Jake D’Antonio, Marshfield, 2

Jayson Dyer, Barnstable, 2

Ty Holmes, West Bridgewater, 2

Erik Knight, Billerica, 2

Aaron Lague, Fairhaven, 2

Breydan Lewis, Bridgewater-Raynham, 2

Brady McCormack, Medfield, 2

Nick Rotondi, Winchester, 2

Will Wood, Xaverian, 2

Caiden Blake, Bridgewater-Raynham, 186

Kellen Balducci, Hanover, 89

Shane McDonald, Plymouth South, 85

Gabby Vigeant, Newburyport, 22

Sophia Jeager, Attleboro, 20

Brooke Braswell, Lynn Classical, 18

Kelsey Dinjian, Nashoba, 16

Francesca Reardon, Shawsheen, 13

Olivia Leonardo, Attleboro, 12

Sydney Lynch, Peabody, 12

Shauna Baker, Dennis-Yarmouth, 11

Lizzy Bettencourt, Peabody, 11

Kendra Marino, Billerica, 11

Haley Carter, Attleboro, 31

Rafaela Prebianchi, Dennis-Yarmouth, 30

Nicky Murphy, Barnstable, 27

Emma Chevalier, Lynn Classical, 22

Siena Torili, Nashoba, 20

Meghan Downs, Billerica, 17

Reese Schaiberger, Swampscott, 14

Ilaisha Taveras, Greater Lawrence, 23

Paige Martin, Shawsheen, 20

Isabella DiSalvo, Shawsheen, 19

Ellie Freeman, Nashoba, 18

Sophia Cantwell, Dennis-Yarmouth, 15

Sophia Jeager, Attleboro, 14

Sage Young, Attleboro, 14

Haley Carter, Attleboro, 13

Lizzy Bettencourt, Peabody, 12

Maria Sirota, Swampscott, 11

Kendra Marino, Billerica, 6

Jaydalise Davila, Greater Lawrence, 5

Carly Deacy, Shawsheen, 5

Brooke Braswell, Lynn Classical, 3

Ellie Freeman, Nashoba, 10

Gabby Vigeant, Newburyport, 8

Jazzy Coyer, Barnstable, 6

Emma Chevalier, Lynn Classical, 5

Maria Rosario, Greater Lawrence, 4

Hector Bermudez, Somerville, 2

Raegan Dillon, St. John Paul II, 5

Shannon Lane, Canton, 4

Carolyn Schiavo, Canton, 3

Hayden Emerson, Foxborough, 2

Brendan Kurie can be reached at brendan.kurie@globe.com. Follow him on X @BrendanKurie.

Our No. 1 stayed firmly in place. After weeks of coming close, St. John’s Prep grabbed the top spot in our poll from Catholic Memorial with all four first-place votes and a unanimous 100 points last week. The Eagles stayed firmly in place following a convincing 37-15 win at Malden Catholic last Friday night.

This is the final week of the regular season before a much-anticipated MIAA tournament, and teams across the commonwealth are staking their places in league standings and the statewide power rankings.

Kyle Grabowski (MetroWest Daily News), Jason Snow (The Patriot Ledger), Tim Whelan (Gannett New England) and Chris McDaniel (Gannett New England) will collectively rank the top teams in the state every week this season. These are the rankings heading into Week 8.

Watch MA high school football on NFHS Network

MA high school football top 25 rankings

1. St. John’s Prep- 100 points (4 first-place votes)

2. Springfield Central – 96 points

3. Xaverian – 92 points

4. Catholic Memorial – 88 points

5. King Philip – 84 points

6. Natick – 79 points

‘We expect to come here and win.’ Natick football earns key Bay State Carey win over Wellesley

7. Methuen – 73 points

8. Central Catholic – 70 points

9. Bishop Feehan – 63 points

10. Tewksbury – 61 points

11. Barnstable – 60 points

12. Marshfield – 54 points

Marshfield: Rams hold off Hingham for one-point victory

13. Scituate – 53 points

14. Foxborough – 50 points

15. Mansfield – 49 points

16. Andover – 39 points

17. North Attleborough – 37 points

18. Shawsheen Valley Tech – 31 points

19. Milton – 30 points

20. Winchester – 23 points

21. Bridgewater-Raynham – 14 points

22. Abington – 9 points

23. Canton – 8 points

T-24. Hingham – 7 points

T-24. Hanover – 7 points

Other receiving votes: Leominster (6), Duxbury (6), Archbishop Williams (5), Wachusett (5), Bedford (1)

Who jumped into the top 25?

Hanover (5-2) moved into the poll after a 42-21 victory over Quincy, the Hawks’ fourth straight win.

Other notable activity

The top eight remained the same as last week, but Bishop Feehan moved up three spots to #9 after a 27-21 win over a tough Franklin team. North Attleborough, meanwhile, moved down seven spots from #10 to #17 after a 24-14 defeat to Mansfield. The Hornets moved from #20 to #15 with the Hockomock League Davenport triumph.