New law alerts residents to sewage overflow into local rivers

SPRINGFIELD, MA (WGGB/WSHM) – More alerts went out on Thursday about sewage overflows in the Connecticut River after one more night of significant rainfall. The alerts put new 48-hour ‘stay out of the water’ warnings in spot in portions of Hampden County.

The latest CSO alerts, also recognized as combined sewer overflows, went out Thursday morning. They tend to come about after considerable rainfall, which we experienced again very last night time.

Sewage has been detected for a next day in a row in the Connecticut River from West Springfield to Springfield to Agawam to Longmeadow and now, Chicopee as perfectly soon after two evenings of heavy rainfall.

Our Western Mass News SkyDrone presented us the view from higher than the Connecticut River, the place people today are staying advised to stay away from make contact with with the h2o for the subsequent two times thanks to microbes hazards. We spoke with Springfield Water and Sewer Commission Jaimye Bartak, who advised us the alerts are staying issued mainly because of a new state legislation now in outcome.

“The CSO notifications that people are obtaining are similar to a new law that was set in position by the state previous fall. It just went into influence. It’s a brand-new legislation and persons can indicator up to receive alerts when there is a put together sewer overflow discharge,” Bartak stated.

Bartak instructed us far more about the Springfield-space sewage alerts.

“Whenever we have a important rain party, that tends to be what activates CSOs, so any time individuals CSOs are activated, we have 23 CSO outfalls in Springfield, so just about every 1 of all those when they activate triggers an alert,” Bartak included.

Bartak explained that that there are other communities in the state that are also below the CSO alert process, so this is taking place in other elements of the point out as nicely.

The advice is still to remain out of a body of drinking water for 48 hrs when an overflow warn is issued.