Neponset River

New regulations from the Environmental Protection Agency will take steps to reduce stormwater runoff, a major source of pollution in the rivers and watersheds in the Boston area.

Somewhere in the future, Ian Cooke envisions a Neponset River where canoes paddle lazily down the water, families sit along the banks in Hyde Park and Mattapan, birds fill the air and migratory fish can swim freely up and down the waterway.

An annual report from the Environmental Protection Agency this month provided mixed results on the water quality in the Neponset River, which borders Mattapan and part of Dorchester.

The Lower Neponset River has been designated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as a Superfund site, local officials announced Monday at a press conference in Mattapan.