The city broke ground Thursday on a massive stormwater filtration system that’s going under Albemarle Field along Cheesecake Brook.

The project will install an infiltration basin under the planned new athletic field to manage water collected from a large area off-site. With the new system, water in the Craft Street drainage line will be diverted to an underground filtration basin and then filtered and treated before the water returns to the drainage line and empties into Cheesecake Brook.

This summer, crews will add an acre of native bank plantings and fix other drainage issues along the field.

“This project is a terrific example of how nature-based design can bolster flood prevention and improve aquatic health,” Max Rome, senior stormwater manager at Charles River Watershed Association, said. “Once complete this system will help prevent pollution from entering the Charles River and reduce flooding in Newton— a win-win.”

The plan to restore Cheesecake Brook (which was straightened and channelized for urban use in the 19th century) has been underway for several years.

Workers added construction fencing last month, and excavation for the new water storage system has begun. The basin system is designed to redirect and store stormwater from six acres with 50,000 cubic feet of tanks between layers of gravel and geo-textile. It can store enough water to fill more than half an Olympic-sized swimming pool.