Connecticut
This is how much untreated wastewater went into the Connecticut River last year
There was a drastic decline in the amount of untreated wastewater that overflowed in the Connecticut River last year compared to 2023, according to a new report from the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection.
The report, which came out last week, showed that 543 million gallons overflowed into the the Connecticut River last year across 12 days with weather events, compared to close to 1 billion gallons in 2023.
Some communities in the Pioneer Valley constructed their sewer systems to also accept stormwater. During heavy rains, the stormwater and sewage overwhelm some wastewater treatment plants and flow — untreated — into nearby bodies of water. The event is called a combined sewer overflow (CSO), and officials issues warnings afterwards to avoid affected water bodies for 48 hours because of pollutants and bacteria.
“In 2023, we had extremely heavy rainfall over the summer and into the winter which resulted in several catastrophic floods throughout the Connecticut River watershed. In contrast, 2024 was a drought year and there was significantly less rainfall,” Ryan O’Donnell, water quality program manager at the Connecticut River Conservancy, wrote in an email.
The amount of overflow depends on the amount of rainfall and snowmelt that occurs, the MassDEP report says.
“Wetter weather conditions, particularly those with significant precipitation, increase the likelihood of CSO discharges,” the report says.
The reduction of untreated wastewater entering in the Connecticut River in 2024 because of combined sewer overflows can also be attributed to the opening of Springfield’s York Street Pump Station in 2023.
The project has “doubled the capacity of our old wastewater pump station and can pump more combined flow to the wastewater treatment plant during storm events,” said Jaimye Bartak, communications manager for the Springfield Water and Sewer Commission.
The commission spent $137 million on the pump station project.
The commission, she said, has spent more than $300 million over the last three decades to reduce and mitigate combined sewer overflow discharges into the Chicopee and Mill rivers and their parent, the Connecticut River.
The commission also has collaborated with other communities to reduce the discharges in the Connecticut River by approximately half, she said in an emailed statement.
“Much CSO investment remains to be done in the region, but we are proud of that progress and it is evident in the increased recreation on and enhanced development along the Connecticut River,” she said.
Wastewater systems across the state are required to notify the public anytime sewage discharges and overflows into Massachusetts water bodies.
Communities, like Holyoke and Chicopee, are also in consent agreements with the federal Environmental Protection Agency to completely eliminate their combined sewer overflows — a multimillion dollar undertaking.
Holyoke, which entered into a consent agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 2023, is working on sewer separation projects to reduce its overflows into the Connecticut River.
Joshua A. Garcia, Holyoke’s mayor, said at a groundbreaking for the River Terrace sewer separation project on Monday, that local governments have to address these issues incrementally.
Garcia said the project is very expensive, but the city can’t keep ignoring the issues. “We have to start moving toward the end goal,” he said.
Chicopee has been in a similar agreement with the EPA for over two decades.
By 2022, Chicopee had spent $225 million on its effort to separate storm drains from sewer pipes, which was a part of its EPA order that requires the city to stop dumping raw sewage into the rivers every time it rains. At the time, the project still needed $300 million to complete.
In addition to fewer discharges of untreated wastewater in the Connecticut River in 2024, there were also fewer discharges in the Mill and Chicopee rivers, the report says. The Mill River went from having 37 million gallons in discharge in 2023 to 18 million the year following. The Chicopee River went down from 23 million gallons to 11 million gallons.
Despite the local decreases, the overall volume untreated wastewater discharge increased in Massachusetts, jumping up from 7.2 billion gallons to 7.6 billion gallons of sewage that entered water bodies across the state.
Particularly, the Massachusetts Bay — on the eastern part of the state — saw an increase in combined sewer overflow discharge from 1.3 billion gallons in 2023 to 1.8 billion gallons in 2024.
The Connecticut high school football’s CIAC postseason wrapped up with the state championships this past weekend on Saturday.
Finishing in the No. 1 spot in this week’s final Top 25 rankings out of the Constitution State is Avon Old Farms after they defeated The Williston Northampton School, 35-21, in the Drew Gamere Bowl to end their season a few weeks ago. New Canaan sits right behind as they repeated as Class L champs. Which other teams from around Connecticut high school football deserves to be in the final set of Top 25 rankings for the 2025 campaign?
The Massey Ratings, officially used during the BCS era, is a model that ranks sports teams by analyzing game outcomes, strength of schedule, and margin of victory.
Here are the last Connecticut high school football rankings for 2025, according to Massey as of Dec. 14.
1. Avon Old Farms Beavers
Avon Old Farms (10-0) opened up the Connecticut high school football season by avenging a loss to Brunswick School from last season and have set the tone for the rest of the campaign. The Beavers have a talented offense that’s averaging 40.7 points per game, led by quarterback Matthew Baer, running back Kharon Craig, and offensive tackle Charlie Thom (Notre Dame commitment).
The Beavers have concluded their season play out of the New England Preparatory School Athletic Counci (NEPSAC) when they defeated The Williston Northampton School last week in the Drew Gamere Bowl, 35-21. Avon Old Farms finishes as the No. 1 team in the Connecticut high school football rankings.
2. New Canaan Rams
The defending Class L state champion New Canaan Rams (13-0) have done it once again as they defeated Cheshire, 34-13.
The Rams have won back to back playoff games versus Darien and Weaver with ease, winning by a combined 85-13. New Canaan won its 16th state championship in head coach Lou Marinelli’s legendary career. With the win, New Canaan clinched their fourth undefeated season in program history for the Rams (1968, 1969, 2008, 2025).
New Canaan has used a high-powered offense to cruise past opponents this fall, with quarterback Maddox Hoffman throwing for 1,936 yards and 21 touchdowns. Running back Henry Stein leads the ground game as he’s rushed for 916 yards and seven touchdowns.
3. Choate Rosemary Hall Wild Boars
Choate Rosemary Hall (8-2) saw its 18-game winning streak snapped back in Week 1 when they lost against New Hampshire’s Phillips Exeter Academy in a battle of top-ranked teams in their respective states.
The Wild Boars will finish likely within the Top 5 of the rankings after they ended their 2025 season in exciting fashion as they avenged that defeat by beating Phillips Exeter Academy in the Leon Modeste Bowl in a 44-42 thriller.
In 2024, the Wild Boars had completed their second consecutive perfect season after defeating Brunswick School. They have lost only four games over the last four Connecticut high school football seasons and only allowed only four opponent to score double digits.
The Wild Boars are another prep school that features multiple future Division I players, including Tanner Raymond (Rutgers) and interior offense lineman Will Tellers.
4. St. Thomas More Chancellors
St. Thomas More (1-3) remain steady as the No. 3 team in our latest set of Connecticut high school football rankings after a 50-21 loss to New Jersey’s No. 3 team, Hun School to end their season.
The Chancellors only losses from the 2024 season came against Maryland’s St. Frances Academy, Hun School, and Florida’s IMG Academy, respectively. St. Thomas More doesn’t have anymore scheduled games left on their 2025 slate.
Among the players the Chancellors feature on their roster are four-star edge rusher Alhassan Iddrissu (UCF), cornerback Terron Johnson, running back Malichi Greaves, and linebacker Christian King.
5. Daniel Hand Tigers
The Daniel Hand Tigers (13-1) has dominated in the Class SS playoffs, dominating all three opponents by a combined score of 122-32, after defeating the Killingly Trailblazers, 37-13, on Saturday.
Fueling the Daniel Hand offensive attack is the strong play of senior signal caller Bobby Reh, who has thrown for 2,194 yards and 29 touchdowns to only three mere picks. Junior running back Lucca Boyce leads the ground game with 1,272 yards and 14 touchdowns.
6. St Joseph (8-2)
7. Cheshire Academy (7-3)
8. Windsor (12-1)
9. Brunswick School (6-4)
10. Greenwich (8-2)
11. Newtown (8-2)
12. Killingly (11-1)
13. Fairfield College Preparatory (8-2)
14. Wilton (10-2)
15. The Taft School (5-4)
16. Bunnell (10-3)
17. Kingswood-Oxford School (8-2)
18. Berlin (12-0)
19. The Loomis Chaffee School (3-6)
20. Darien (6-5)
21. Brookfield (8-3)
22. Staples (5-5)
23. Cheshire (8-3)
24. Southington (7-3)
25. Mark T. Sheehan (10-3)
For Connecticut high school football fans looking to keep up with scores around the nation, staying updated on the action is now easier than ever with the Rivals High School Scoreboard. This comprehensive resource provides real-time updates and final scores from across the Constitution State, ensuring you never miss a moment of the Friday night frenzy. From nail-biting finishes to dominant performances, the Rivals High School Scoreboard is your one-stop destination for tracking all the Connecticut high school scores and football rankings.
VESTAL, NY (WBNG) — In a second straight doubleheader Saturday following up a Bearcats women’s win, the Bearcats men’s team dropped their second consecutive home game, 84-67 to Central Connecticut State.
In a closely contested matchup early on, the Bearcats stayed in it heading into the break only trailing by seven points.
In the second half, Binghamton brought it to within four points before the Blue Devils pulled away once again and went on an 11-0 run and went up by as much as 20 points.
Darin Smith Jr. finished with a game high, 23 points for the Blue Devils.
The Bearcats were without center, Demetrius Lilley which led to junior forward, Zyier Beverly, having an increased role.
Beverly led Binghamton with 21 points and five rebounds.
After back-to-back losses at home, the Bearcats now go on the road for a three game road stretch starting on Wednesday, Dec. 17 against Pittsburgh at 7p.m.
Copyright 2025 WBNG. All rights reserved.
New Canaan faces Cheshire in the 2025 Connecticut high school Class L football state championship on Saturday afternoon.
The game begins at 4 p.m. EST on Saturday, Dec. 13, at Veterans Stadium in New Britain, Connecticut.
The game will stream live on the NFHS Network.
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What: Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference (CIAC) Class L football championship
Who: New Canaan vs. Cheshire
When: Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025
Where: Veterans Stadium in New Britain, Connecticut
Time: 4 p.m. EST
Stream: NFHS Network
Tickets: $11,50
Record, MaxPrep state rankings: New Canaan 12-0, No. 1; Cheshire 9-3, No. 11
Here’s more information about the game from the Hartford Courant, via the Tribune News Service:
New Canaan is going for its 16th state title and fourth straight under veteran coach Lou Marinelli and New Canaan outscored its playoff opponents, 85-13. Cheshire’s last finals appearance was 2009, when coach Don Drust was an assistant for the Rams’ team, which beat Staples in overtime to win a Class LL title. Cheshire rallied from a 19-point deficit against Fairfield Ludlowe to win the Class L quarterfinal game and beat Ridgefield 21-0 in the semifinals. QB Aiden Gregorich’s pass to Liam Suomala proved to be the game-winning touchdown with 10 seconds left in the quarterfinal.
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