Connecticut

Berlin fire one of 70 wildfires in unusually dry CT. What's going on?

Published

7 months ago

October 31, 2024

Berlin fire one of 70 wildfires in unusually dry CT. What's going on?

Connecticut has faced some 70 wildfires since Oct. 21. One firefighter has died and others have been injured. The fire magnitudes have varied. The Hawthorne fire in Berlin is the biggest to date — 127 acres as of Wednesday afternoon.

Their causes vary too, but the underlying conditions for each are the same: abnormally dry conditions that has left a landscape primed to burn.

It turns out Connecticut is not the only state that has faced an exceedingly dry October. And it isn’t experiencing the worst of it.

Data through Oct. 29, released Thursday, show that except for a thin northern strip and small area in the southern tip of Fairfield County, Connecticut was ranked as “abnormally dry,” so not quite in a drought, by the U.S. Drought Monitor, a joint operation of the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The two northern and southern areas are in moderate drought — the lowest drought level.

That is a little worse than last week when a portion of central Connecticut still had no designation and only a tiny corner was designated as moderate drought.

NOAA’s preliminary estimate based on the new data is that 87.16% of the continental U.S. is now abnormally dry or worse. That would be a record.

Credit: U.S. Drought Monitor

National data provided by NOAA from the Southeast Regional Climate Center show there was a small amount of rain in October at the various reporting sites around the state. That is a clear contrast to the big zeros it shows from New York to Philadelphia and across the south central U.S.

A ranking map shows that only Connecticut’s Stamford/Bridgeport reporting station has recorded its lowest October precipitation on record — which goes back 77 years. On this interactive map, a monthly record is indicated by the number 1. The other reporting stations, some with longer and some with shorter reporting histories, rank their areas from second to sixth driest Octobers.

But in the New York City to Philadelphia corridor and across the south there are a lot of number ones for October.

That’s splitting hairs, to some degree — it IS dry here and in many locations. The bigger question may be, what’s causing the lack of rain?

According to Allison Santorelli, acting warning coordination meteorologist for NOAA’s Weather Prediction Center, there has been a “stark pattern shift” since mid-September that has resulted in a stubborn and strong high pressure — an upper level ridge parked across much of the eastern half of the country.

“That’s what’s led to the anomalously dry weather in many locations from the central U.S. into the eastern U.S.,” she said. “And that has generally blocked any moisture from coming north from the Gulf of Mexico.”

Santorelli said there looks to be a bit of a break coming for the central region in the next week. “But at least in the Eastern U.S., it looks like we’re going to be kind of stuck, for lack of a better term, underneath this blocky upper ridge for now.”

October does tend to be a pretty dry month for this area, but not this dry and it’s generally not the driest time of the year.

“The fire weather season, if you want to call it that, in the tri-state area, is basically April,” said Erica Grow Cei, a meteorologist and spokesperson for NOAA. “You’ve got all those dry leaves on the ground from last year, and the sun is starting to come up, and it’s still dry, and you get a little breeze. Someone flicks their cigarette out the window, and next thing you know, you’ve got a little fire.”

Which begs the big question — is the unusual dryness right now related to climate change? That’s unknown.

Will we ever know? Also unknown.

Grow Cei explained that systems like the one that is stuck now get stuck because the warm and especially dry air in it is very dense, which just makes it harder to budge. There’s also less of a moisture source coming from below because the leaves on the trees this time of year have stopped undergoing photosynthesis, which would release moisture through the leaves.

“It just helps to keep things stuck,” she said.

The high winds the area has experienced lately will dry things out even faster.

Logic would tell you a state like Connecticut with an extensive shoreline should provide more moisture. But Grow Cei said this time of year there is less evaporation.

“Our sun angle right now is similar to what it is on Valentine’s Day,” she said.

To get things moving again, something big like a brewing tropical storm would need to occur — not that anyone is wishing for that with another month to go in the official hurricane season. “There could be some other large enough scale disturbance that rides through the jet that disrupts the pattern,” she said.

But that hasn’t happened here yet and NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center doesn’t show much precipitation showing up into mid-November.

For now, the predictions for winter are not too out-of-the-ordinary for New England. Temperatures are likely to be a little above normal. And precipitation? Normal.

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Connecticut

How to watch the Connecticut Sun basketball game against the Atlanta Dream May 25

Published

11 hours ago

May 23, 2025

Press Room

How to watch the Connecticut Sun basketball game against the Atlanta Dream May 25

The Connecticut Sun will take on the Atlanta Dream on the road May 25.

Atlanta finished the 2024 regular season with a record of 15-25, good for fourth place in the WNBA’s Eastern Conference. Following the 2024 regular season, Atlanta lost in the first round of the playoffs to the New York Liberty 2-0.

The Dream’s roster that was announced prior to the 2025 regular season featured a blend of experience and emerging stars. One of the highlights of that roster was Brittney Griner. Her extensive list of career highlights includes 10 WNBA All-Star Game selections and three All-WNBA First Team selections

Here’s how to watch the Connecticut Sun game against the Atlanta Dream May 25.

How to watch and stream the game

The game will be broadcast live on NBC Sports Boston. The game can also be watched on the WNBA’s website and streamed on WNBA League Pass.

Venue and start time

Start time: 3 p.m. ET
Venue: Gateway Center Arena @ College Park, Atlanta, Georgia

Connecticut Sun 2025 regular season schedule

Record: 0-2

May 18: Washington Mystics (L 85-90)
May 20: Las Vegas Aces (L 62-87)
May 23: at Minnesota Lynx, 7:30 p.m. ET
May 25: at Atlanta Dream, 3 p.m. ET
May 27: Dallas Wings, 7 p.m. ET
May 30: at Indiana Fever, 7:30 p.m. ET
June 1: at New York Liberty, 3 p.m. ET
June 6: Atlanta Dream, 7:30 p.m. ET
June 8: at Washington Mystics, 3 p.m. ET
June 15: Chicago Sky, 12 p.m. ET
June 17: at Indiana Fever, 7 p.m. ET
June 18: Phoenix Mercury, 7 p.m. ET
June 20: Dallas Wings, 7:30 p.m. ET
June 22: at Golden State Valkyries, 8:30 p.m. ET
June 25: at Las Vegas Aces, 10 p.m. ET
June 27: at Seattle Storm, 10 p.m. ET
June 29: at Minnesota Lynx, 7 p.m. ET
July 6: Las Vegas Aces, 4 p.m. ET
July 9: Seattle Storm, 11 a.m. ET
July 11: at Seattle Storm, 10 p.m. ET
July 13: at Los Angeles Sparks, 6 p.m. ET
July 15: Indiana Fever, 8 p.m. ET
July 24: Los Angeles Sparks, 7 p.m. ET
July 27: Golden State Valkyries, 1 p.m. ET
July 28: Seattle Storm, 7 p.m. ET
August 1: New York Liberty, 7:30 p.m. ET
August 3: New York Liberty, 1 p.m. ET
August 5: at Phoenix Mercury, 10 p.m. ET
August 7: at Los Angeles Sparks, 10 p.m. ET
August 10: at Las Vegas Aces, 9 p.m. ET
August 11: at Golden State Valkyries, 10 p.m. ET
August 13: Chicago Sky, 7 p.m. ET
August 17: Indiana Fever, 1 p.m. ET
August 19: at Washington Mystics, 7:30 p.m. ET
August 21: Washington Mystics, 7 p.m. ET
August 23: at Chicago Sky, 4 p.m. ET
August 25: at New York Liberty, 7 p.m. ET
August 27: at Dallas Wings, 8 p.m. ET
August 30: Minnesota Lynx, 7 p.m. ET
September 1: Atlanta Dream, 1 p.m. ET
September 3: at Chicago Sky, 8 p.m. ET
September 6: Phoenix Mercury, 1 p.m. ET
September 8: at Atlanta Dream, 7:30 p.m. ET
September 10: Atlanta Dream, 7 p.m. ET

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Connecticut

This is how much untreated wastewater went into the Connecticut River last year

Published

1 day ago

May 22, 2025

Press Room

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.

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Connecticut

Opinion: Energy legislation needs work, but solutions are in sight

Published

2 days ago

May 22, 2025

Press Room

Opinion: Energy legislation needs work, but solutions are in sight

When SB 1560, An Act Concerning Connecticut’s Economy, Electricity Affordability and Business Competitiveness and Establishing the Connecticut Energy Procurement Authority and the Green Bond was posted, it raised eyebrows.

It’s not often a comprehensive 80-page energy bill is introduced in a committee other than Energy & Technology.

The bill creates the Connecticut Energy Procurement Authority (CEPA), charged with taking over the buying of electricity, a function performed by our utilities. Also created is a Green Bond fund to pay for parts of electricity bills currently funded by ratepayers.

The complexity of energy markets is daunting, but it’s important to note that there are processes, called dockets, in which all the players get a chance to participate equally. That due process is vital. It minimizes favoring one interest group over another.

SB 1560 needs work in that area. From testimony posted on the CGA’s website, it clear that many of the bill’s proposals caught energy stakeholders off guard.

For example, if you put solar on your house or business, you are compensated for that, just like a power plant. And on really sunny days, unlike a fossil fuel plant, you’re putting 100% clean electricity into the grid. SB 1560 would drastically reduce that compensation for solar, just when grid-helpful solar with battery backup installations are increasing.

Solar vendors testified the change would wipe out the solar industry in Connecticut. The exodus of those businesses, jobs, and tax revenue from the state is in no way a positive. There’s a docket currently underway examining solar compensation. Let’s allow that to play out.

Another change proposes redefining nuclear power as renewable energy. To be clear, this won’t suddenly make spent uranium fuel rods unspent. But it will take funding away from true renewables that are cheaper in the long term.

Ironically, for legislation promoting cost reductions, the solar and nuclear sections will save little, if anything, in the short term, and likely increase costs long term. Similarly, a section to reduce high demand charges to businesses would simply spread that among other ratepayers.

Tasked with electricity procurement, CEPA, according to the Connecticut Office of Consumer Counsel, is not obligated to follow the Uniform Administrative Procedures Act, which means “… both participants appearing before it and ratepayers are not guaranteed due process.” Further, CEPA can accept monetary gifts. It’s worth contemplating how sizable donations might influence CEPA’s politically appointed directors.

CEPA would use bonds to fund some of the combined public benefits programs. This could work if done with care. But as written, there are safeguards that are missing. Concerns raised by OCC’s analysis articulate situations that could require ratepayers to “… cover costs of the new programs in addition to the current costs ratepayers pay for on bills.”

OCC points out they’ve already “… evaluated different potential revisions to our current procurement laws and processes…” in collaboration with the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority, the Energy & Technology Committee, and other stakeholders. If legislators elect to go with a CEPA type entity, OCC has recommendations, one of which places it under the auspices of PURA or the Dept of Energy & Environmental Protection. This would continue necessary oversight on behalf of all ratepayers.

Legislators voted SB 1560 out of the Finance, Revenue & Bonding committee, making clear it needs to be improved. They want to prudently address high utility rates. The OCC’s expertise is in understanding how to best put that in play.

Let’s put their guidance to work.

Andy Bauer is a member of the Town of Portland’s Clean Energy Task Force.

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