Press Release  Healey-Driscoll Administration Awards Over $500,000 in Grants to Help Communities Meet Sewage Notification Requirements

BOSTON — Building on its commitment to protect and improve water quality, the Healey-Driscoll Administration today announced that $575,546 in grants have been awarded to 12 regional or municipal wastewater utilities or systems across Massachusetts. The grants will help local communities meet new requirements to notify the public of sewage discharges and overflows into the surface waters of the Commonwealth. The projects, selected by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP), were awarded to the Town of Billerica, the Town of Buckland, the Cherry Valley Sewer District, the City of Fitchburg Wastewater Division, the Greater Lawrence Sanitary District, the City of Haverhill, the City of Holyoke, the City of Lowell, the Town of Marblehead, the Springfield Water and Sewer Commission, the City of Worcester, and Upper Blackstone Clean Water.  

“The implementation of this important notification rule has helped to raise awareness of sewage discharges into local waterways, helping to protect public health, and focusing a light on the critical need for upgraded sewer infrastructure,” said MassDEP Commissioner Bonnie Heiple. “These grants will help communities improve their public notification efforts with increased sewer system monitoring, more-inclusive signage near CSO locations, and timely website postings of discharge events.”   

The funding awarded today will enable regional or municipal wastewater utilities or systems in Massachusetts to expand their efforts to meet the Sewage Notification regulation requirements to notify the public of sewage discharges and overflows to protect and preserve public health. There are more than 240 Massachusetts municipalities subject to the current regulations that took effect on July 6, 2022. 

Regulatory requirements that wastewater treatment plants and communities must meet include notifying the public of sewage discharge and overflow events, posting signage at public access points, and making relevant information available online.    

The groups receiving funding are: 

Town of Billerica – $29,489 
The town will use the funds to purchase and install monitoring equipment to monitor systems to identify Sanitary Sewer Overflows (SSOs) in its five largest force-mains. The installation of monitoring equipment will significantly reduce the time for a SSO to be discovered, allowing for quicker public notifications. 

Town of Buckland – $28,000 
This project will help the town purchase and install a new chart reader to increase reliability of wastewater flow measurement and for purchase and installation of a closed-circuit TV system, software, and alarm panel to alert staff of potential high flow activity. 

Cherry Valley Sewer District, Leicester – $50,625 
Cherry Valley Sewer District will utilize the funds to update sewer notification system web interfaces, and to purchase and install monitoring equipment at pump stations for use in identification and measurement of Sanitary Sewer Overflow (SSO) events.   

City of Fitchburg Wastewater Division – $117,548 
The city will use the funds to upgrade existing meters for Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) optimization, including replacement batteries, antennas, and redundant meters. The city also needs financial assistance for CSO notification upgrades to automate monthly summary reports that are displayed on the city’s CSO notification webpage, and for purchase and installation of an electronic message board for notifications in higher trafficked areas.    

Greater Lawrence Sanitary District (GLSD) – $58,548 
Greater Lawrence Sanitary District (GLSD) will use the funds for work completed to install three new pressure and level sensors within the main sewer interceptor lines that will provide a more accurate reading of water levels pertaining to Combined Sewer Overflows. 

City of Haverhill – $20,414 
The city will utilize the funds to reimburse an impact analysis report completed to better identify the distance downstream where communities and public recreational facilities are likely to encounter pathogen concentrations above the standards following a Combined Sewer Overflow event.   

City of Holyoke – $50,000 
The city will use the funds to upgrade and automate the city’s Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) email notification system that would improve the reliability and timeliness of their public notification of CSO discharges. 

City of Lowell – $88,140
The city will utilize the funds to purchase and install monitoring equipment to help identify potential Sanitary Sewer Overflows, upgrade industrial device services to assist in the implementation of the Combined Sewer Overflow Notification Plan, and upgrade the city’s notification system. 

Town of Marblehead – $26,707 
The town will use the funds to purchase and install message board style signs at public access locations that will be updated with water quality warnings to alert the public.   

Springfield Water and Sewer Commission – $17,775 
The Springfield Water and Sewer Commission will utilize the funds for installation and monitoring of closed-circuit TV cameras at three locations to verify alarm conditions withing the sewer system related to the Combined Sewer Overflow public notification program.  

City of Worcester – $78,300 
The city will utilize the funds to purchase and install flow monitoring equipment to identify potential Combined Sewer Overflows (CSOs) and to update the city’s CSO notification system. 

Upper Blackstone Clean Water, Millbury – $10,000 
Upper Blackstone Clean Water will use the funds to purchase and install signage near the Blackstone River, where the Upper Blackstone Clean Water effluent channel combines with the Blackstone River at the Blackstone River Parkway. The signage will help educate the public and provide a link to sign-up for discharge notifications.

“Funding towards optimizing and upgrading our Combined Sewer Overflow meters is essential to ensuring the health and safety of our community,” said State Representative Michael Kushmerek (D-Fitchburg). “I am grateful for the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection which has awarded the City of Fitchburg’s Wastewater Division with vital grants towards improving our existing sewer systems.”

For more information, please visit the Sewage Notification Assistance Grant Program page on MassDEP’s website. 

MassDEP’s mission is to protect and enhance the Commonwealth’s natural resources – air, water and land – to provide for the health, safety and welfare of all people, and to ensure a clean and safe environment for future generations. In carrying out this mission, MassDEP commits to address and advance environmental justice and equity for all people of the Commonwealth; to provide meaningful, inclusive opportunities for people to participate in agency decisions that affect their lives; and to ensure a diverse workforce that reflects the communities we serve.

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