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.
NEW HAVEN, Conn. (WTNH) — Looking for a free way to stay cool this summer in Connecticut?
Parks, recreation centers and beaches across the state are opening as temperatures continue to climb.
See News 8’s developing list below:
New Haven
- Foote Park in Brandford
- East Haven Town Beach
- Quasy Amusement Park in Middlebury
- Lighthouse Point Park
- Nolan Athletic Complex in Ansonia
- Villano Park in Hamden
Hartford
- Verplanck Elementary School in Manchester
- Nathan Hale in Beach in Manchester
- A.W. Stanley Park Pool in New Britain
- Willow Brook Park Pool in New Britain
- Chesley Park in New Britain
- Willow Street Park in New Britain
- Beachland Park in West Hartford
- Fernridge Park in West Hartford
- Kennedy Park in West Hartford
Middlesex
- Watrous Park in Cromwell
- Clinton Town Beach
- Veterans Memorial Park in Middletown
New London
- The Dinosaur Place in Montville
Windham
- Paderewski Park in Plainville
Splash pad locations operate at different times. Contact each location for specifics on parking, opening times and residency requirements.
Have a splash pad to add to our list? Email webproducer-wtnh@nexstar.tv
Download the News 8 app to get breaking news and weather alerts.
Watch News 8 on WTNH.com or the free WTNH News 8 streaming app on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV and select Samsung Smart TVs.
Connecticut
Experts issue pet safety reminders during stretches of high heat, humidity in Connecticut
NEW HAVEN, Conn. (WTNH) — As high heat and humidity stretch across Connecticut for the next couple of days, experts are warning pet owners that this weather can be tough on their furry friends.
Old Lyme Veterinary Hospital chief surgeon Dr. Cornelius Marrinan joined News 8 live with some safety reminders on Thursday.
To watch the full video, click on the player above.
Connecticut
A 300-Year-Old House, the Oldest in Ridgefield, Connecticut, Is Selling as Part of an Amenity-Filled Family Compound
This two-house, two-barn compound includes the oldest home in Ridgefield, Connecticut, and stands right on the town’s historic and famously charming Main Street.
“It’s actually two distinct houses, two really iconic landmark properties on Main Street” that have been carefully restored and renovated, said listing agent Laura Ancona, of William Pitt/Julia B Fee Sotheby’s International Realty.
“Over $10 million has been spent in top-of-the-line improvements and designer appointments inside and out,” according to the listing.
The older home, known as the Hawley House, was built in 1713 for the Rev. Thomas Hawley, a minister who was also the schoolmaster and town clerk, Ancona said. “It’s quite a stylish home for the time, with high ceilings, wide-board floors and multiple fireplaces,” she said.
Other features include a gambrel roof, original paneling on the fireplace wall of one living room, original fireplace mantels, many of the original hand-blown glass windows, an original Dutch door and hand-hewn beams, according to information provided by the agent. An original double-seated, white clapboard outhouse rests about 100 feet behind the home.
The 300-year-old house is on the National Register of Historic Places as well as being one of the 32 “Stations of History” on Ridgefield’s “Museum in the Streets” tour, Ancona said.
MORE: Tour More One-of-a-Kind Homes In Out Listing of the Day Series
The 1777 Battle of Ridgefield in the Revolutionary War was fought on Main Street and it was also where Brig. Gen. Benedict Arnold’s horse was shot out from under him, she said. “We’re very historic, very Colonial.”
“It’s one of the top Main Streets in the country,” Ancona said. “It’s a Norman Rockwell-esque, tree-lined Main Street. Ridgefield is very protective of its Main Street.”
The second house on the compound, a Gothic Revival Victorian, was built by Hawley’s descendants in 1826, she said. “It’s very grand, very colorful,” now with four finished levels.
“It was not as well upkept as it should have been” when the sellers bought it in 2002 and began a multiyear renovation soon after, Ancona said. They were able to recreate much of the original architectural details from old photos.
The gray barn/carriage house associated with the Victorian has been renovated to now include a kitchen and great room that opens to the pool area, a gym and sauna, a poker room, a game room with a bar, an arcade and a movie theater for 30-plus people, she said. “It’s a completely tricked-out party barn.”
There’s also a circa-1900 red barn that now holds an indoor basketball court, an arts-and-crafts studio and a second-floor office with a conference room, according to the listing. It was updated and redone in 2012.
Both lots, which together are 3.16 acres, are quite deep with long driveways, which offers a great deal of privacy, even while being on Main Street, Ancona said.
“You can walk to town and still have all of this privacy,” she said.
Stats
The 8,934-square-foot compound has eight bedrooms, seven full bathrooms and two partial bathrooms. It sits on a 3.16-acre lot.
Amenities
Amenities include a heated pool and spa, a pool/carriage house, two two-car garages (one with two Tesla chargers), seven fireplaces, a gym and sauna, an indoor basketball court, a brick courtyard, a pergola, an outdoor kitchen, a home office with a conference room, an arts-and-crafts studio, a bar and game room, a poker room, an arcade and a movie theater.
Neighborhood Notes
The home is within walking distance of everything Main Street has to offer, including museums, the library, Ballard Park, an old-fashioned hardware store and lots of independent shops and restaurants, Ancona said. “There is no fast food in all of Ridgefield.”
Ridgefield is adjacent to Westchester County in New York, and it’s about a 30-minute drive to the Westchester County Airport, she said. Ridgefield is about 90 miles from Manhattan.
Agent: Laura Ancona, William Pitt/Julia B Fee Sotheby’s International Realty
View the original listing.
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