As the City Council considers a request for $3,240,000 for the Newton South High School Synthetic Turf Fields and Perimeter Track project, various groups agree and disagree with each other about what should be done.
The Climate Crisis Subcommittee of the Newton Democratic City Committee has issued a position statement warning of the risks – to health, to the environment, and to finances – of installing artificial turf, both in general and specifically at Newton South High School.
The Subcommittee’s statement notes that artificial turf offers advantages in playability – extended playing time and resistance to closure due to weather — but also entails:
- Health risks — in the short term: abrasions, knee injuries, heat illnesses, etc., and in the long term: carcinogens, neurotoxicants, reproductive toxicants, etc.;
- Environmental risks — PFAS, zinc, and heavy metals in nearby water and soils; flooding; heat islands; landfill waste when artificial turf is replaced; and
- Financial costs — for installation, PFAS remediation.
The Subcommittee recommends that the City undertake a comprehensive study of the needs for playing fields by school sports, youth sports, camps, and the general public vs. available playing field spaces. It also recommends the creation of a sustainable management and maintenance plan for natural turf playing fields that:
- Identifies underused spaces and creates plans to upgrade them to make them available;
- Rotates field usage across available fields to allow for periodic rest and regeneration;
- Maintains healthy grass fields while minimizing or eliminating herbicide and pesticide; and
- Phases out artificial turf over time.
Justin Traxler, founder of Newton Athletic Fields Foundation and six-year president of Newton Girls Soccer, agrees that a comprehensive study and plan is needed, but he says a solution for Newton must include both natural and synthetic turf. He says that the City has never done such a plan but he is grateful that the City has increased its annual budget for natural turf field maintenance from $50K to $350K – a level that he says gets Newton closer to industry-standard costs of $5K-$10K per acre.
Traxler says that he would love to have sufficient acreage of nice natural turf fields, but there is not enough room in Newton for that. Natural turf gets destroyed from overuse, and Newton’s demand for playing time exceeds what is available even when fields are overused. He noted that the Newton Highlands football/lacrosse/soccer field – Newton’s newest natural turf field — was closed for more than one season due to overuse.
He says that synthetic turf provides more hours of use and remains playable even when wet weather closes natural turf fields, and it provides a consistently high-quality surface. He acknowledges that studies have shown varying degrees of injuries due to synthetic turf but notes that poorly maintained grass fields also cause increased injuries. He says in his time with Newton Girls Soccer he has never had a parent or player raise a concern about synthetic turf except for turf burns. “The support from the athletic community for synthetic turf is basically unanimous,” he says.
Traxler also notes that virtually every university and private school uses synthetic turf, and there are no state or federal regulations that prohibit its use.
Both Traxler and the NDCC’s Climate Crisis Committee agree on what’s needed: a comprehensive analysis of the supply and demand for athletic fields, and a plan and sufficient budget for properly maintaining natural turf fields. Where they differ is on whether Newton’s needs can be met solely with natural turf and whether the benefits of using synthetic turf outweigh any environmental and health risks.
The requested appropriation has been approved by the Programs & Services Committee and Finance Committee, and it is expected to be taken up for a vote by the full City Council next Tuesday.
Martina Jackson and Amy Sangiolo are members of the NDCC’s Climate Crisis Subcommittee and directors of Fig City News. They did not contribute to this article.
