Coallition Commends New Bedford for Efforts to Improve Water Quality in Outer Harbor
The water quality of Outer New Bedford Harbor is getting a boost thanks to the City of New Bedford’s effort to eliminate a Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) located at the bottom of Bellevue Street, along East Rodney French Blvd. Eliminating CSO 012 prevents about 200,000 gallons of combined sewage overflow (as estimated during a typical rainfall) from discharging into the harbor. The City initiated the project when it received a grant from the Buzzards Bay National Estuary Program, which had to be used to remediate stormwater to open or protect shellfish habitat. The City applied the grant money towards a sewer separation project to eliminate CSO 012, which discharged about a mile from Davy’s Locker Beach – a place familiar to many as the start line for the Coalition’s Annual Swim Buzzards Bay. Currently, most of the city is serviced by combined sewers, which carry both sewage and stormwater (rain flowing across streets) in the same pipe. When there is not a lot of stormwater, sewage is transported to a wastewater treatment plant where it is processed. However, after heavy rainfall, stormwater and sewage overload the system and the overflow is discharged into the Acushnet River, New Bedford Harbor and Clarks Cove, subjecting these areas to high levels of pollution, including bacteria and other pathogens, toxic chemicals and debris. With the removal of CSO 012, there are 26 CSOs remaining throughout the city. “CSOs represent the only remaining discharge of untreated sewage to Buzzards Bay, and last year, we continued to urge the city to work with the Environmental Protection Agency and the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection to reduce wastewater pollution caused by CSOs,” said Coalition President Mark Rasmussen. “We commend the city for making significant strides in its efforts to decrease CSO discharges and further reducing pollutants to the Bay.” Elimination of CSO 012 involved the installation of approximately 1,500 feet of new storm drain. The Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries, in cooperation with the City’s Shellfish Constable, is collecting water samples under various conditions to determine if the samples meet water quality standards and whether the water in that area will now be clean enough to support healthy shellfish harvest. To date, the results show total compliance. The Coalition looks forward to working with the city as it continues to identify and initiate solutions to remediate CSO discharges throughout New Bedford. |
