Rep puts sewer overflows on nation’s radar
Moulton pushes fed bill requiring resident alert
U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton has pushed a critical local issue into the limelight in Washington, introducing a bill tackling combined sewer overflows, which dump untreated sewage into rivers.
The Sewage Treatment Overflow Prevention through Community Sanitation Outreach Act, abbreviated as the STOP CSO Act, would mandate local governments alert residents within four hours of a sewer overflow.
“It seems like a basic human right, to know what’s in your water,” said John Macone, policy specialist at the Merrimack River Watershed Association, a local environmental group fighting for the river’s health.
Sewer overflows happen when antiquated water treatment systems are overwhelmed by a sudden onslaught of water, brought on by heavy rain. The systems are too old to handle the rush of water, and the pipes compensate by releasing untreated wastewater straight from residents’ toilets into waterways, like the Merrimack River.
“There are so many places around the country where this has been going on for decades, and people aren’t really aware of it,” Macone said.
The 117-mile Merrimack River provides drinking water for more than 600,000 Bay Staters, and the Herald’s investigative reporting in 2018 revealed wastewater treatment plants had dumped an average of 2.8 billion gallons of untreated wastewater into the river each year. The waterway is also used for boating and recreation.
The issue hasn’t resolved since then: according to the Merrimack River Watershed Association, on one day in 2020, sewage plants in Lowell and Lawrence discharged a combined 70 million gallons of untreated wastewater into the river. That overflow occurred in September, in just a 2 1/2 hour span.
In a statement, Moulton, D-Mass., said the issue constantly comes up when he meets with Massachusetts residents. The cost to fix the wastewater treatment systems far exceeds what any local municipality along the Merrimack can afford right now.
“We can stop CSO by investing in a new generation of infrastructure and technology. That means 21st century wastewater systems and, until we get there, push notifications when the river your drinking water comes from contains sewage,” he said.
The Merrimack benefits from a federal bill because, like many other waterways nationwide, it crosses state lines.
“It’s one river and two states, and the states should be using the same system to alert people,” Macone said.
Living downstream from the Granite State, Bay Staters deal with the bulk of wastewater treatment from New Hampshire residents, but New Hampshire locals use the water from the Merrimack plenty, as well. Macone pointed out that in Nashua, a brand new boat ramp was installed on the river.
If the bill passes, local plants can install meters to measure what’s actually coming out of pipes into the river — something that not all areas can afford right now.
“It’s a great direction to go in,” Macone said. “More people are using the river now, in recent years.”