Healey-Driscoll Administration Awards Grants Relative to Sewage Notification Requirements

According to a press release issued by the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA), the Healey-Driscoll Administration announced that $600,000 in grants have been awarded to 10 regional or municipal wastewater utilities and systems across Massachusetts. This grant program is the first to help local communities meet new requirements to notify the public of Combined Sewer Overflows (CSOs) – which are sewage discharges and untreated stormwater and wastewater – into the surface waters of the Commonwealth.

The funding awarded will enable regional or municipal wastewater utilities and 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.

UCANE, which supported the passage of the law underpinning the regulations, continues to support efforts to make the general public aware of the Commonwealth’s water infrastructure needs. Regulatory requirements that wastewater treatment plants and communities must meet include notifying the public of sewage discharges and overflow events, posting signage at public access points and making relevant information available online.

Among some of the groups receiving funding are:

• City of Lowell ($66,952). This project involves modernizing the City’s CSO metering equipment, purchasing signage, and upgrading Supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) services to assist in continued on page 15

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• Worcester Department of Public Works & Parks ($40,000). The City of Worcester sought grant funding to design and install equipment to monitor and measure sewage flow that passes through its existing wet weather bypass conduit to the Blackstone River.

• Greater Lawrence Sanitary District (GLSD) ($121,360). The GLSD requested funding for work to upgrade the method of transmitting data from their 17 metering stations that detect CSOs. The new system utilizes cell phone and line-of-sight technology to transmit data from the remote stations to the main facility for constant monitoring.

• Springfield Water and Sewer Commission ($70,982). The Commission sought grant funding to modernize and upgrade their public-facing Sewage Overflow Notification website, as well as pay for meter rentals, and professional consulting support for the annual update to the Collection System Hydraulic Model. continued on page 17

• Lynn Water & Sewer Commission (LWSC) ($80,000). The LWSC proposed upgrading the CSO and Sanitary Sewer Overflow (SSO) metering and notification capabilities to include an automated real-time public notification system, with specific outreach and inclusion of Environmental Justice communities, as required by state law.

• City of Holyoke ($64,039). The City of Holyoke requested funds for implementation of an electronic CSO notification system and translation services to translate notifications to Spanish, as well as signage with a remotely controlled alarm system at three public access points on the Connecticut River.

For more information about the Sewage Notification Assistance Grant Program website, please visit: https://www.mass.gov/info-details/ grants-financial-assistance-watersheds-waterquality#sewage-notification-assistance-grantprogram- .

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