
This slide by the Buzzards Bay Coalition, which was presented at the Fairhaven Select Board meeting on 1/27/25, shows a decrease in shellfish bed closures in Buzzards Bay from 1990 to 2015.
By Beth David, Editor
At the Fairhaven Select Board meeting on 1/27/25, Chairperson Stasia Powers reported on a meeting convened by the Buzzards Bay Coalition of local leaders in the watershed to learn about the problem and progress the City of New Bedford has made over the years trying to keep sewage out of the harbor. She said Harbormaster Tim Cox also attended; and Rick Trapilo, Planning Board Member and a member of the New Bedford Harbor Plan Committee, who has been strongly advocating to stop the sewer outflow.
The Combine Sewer Outflow (CSO) is the amount of dirty water that goes into the harbor and outer harbor during a large rainstorm. The city’s storm water and sewage flow into the same pipes causing an overflow (CSO) of untreated water into the bay that includes stormwater and sewage.
The City has the second highest number of CSO pipes in the state with 27; Boston has 36, Springfield 23, Fall River 17, Chicopee 16.
To fix the problem, the city would need $1.2 billion, an amount clearly out of the reach of New Bedford residents. As it is the average household sewer bill for City residents is projected to double by 2037 to $1,106 per year.
City residents are already spending more of their household income on sewer than others and they are the lowest income households.
The City has been addressing the issue, spending $602 million since 1990 on wastewater and CSO improvements. New Bedford will spend $172 million from 2017 through 2025. The City has budgeted the maximum amount that residents can pay. There are several different plans at different amounts attacking different parts of the problem.
The bottom line is that the residents of New Bedford cannot afford the $1.2 billion required to fix the problem. State and federal funds will have to pay for the project.
Some residents have pointed to the project in Providence that built five miles of huge storage tunnels under Providence and Pawtucket to hold water. Ms. Powers pointed out that the project cost $1.7 billion and served more than 1 million people. The New Bedford project would cost $1.2 billion and serve 100,000 people, so getting funding from the federal government is a challenge.
Ms. Powers said residents in the whole region need to make it clear that the problem affects all the communities in the watershed, not just New Bedford.
Last year, the state shut down all of Buzzards Bay to shellfishing when the CSO reached a certain level, affecting communities from Westport to Wareham.
Due to the work the City has done over the decades, the water quality of the harbor and the bay has increased dramatically. Water clarity improved and eelgrass meadow are recovering off Fort Phoenix. Sewer discharges are actually down more than 90% since 1990. And shellfish bed closures were down from 2004 to 2015. A significant reason for that is the upgrade of the Wastewater Treatment Plant in 1996.
The reason we are suddenly hearing so much about CSOs, she said, is a new reporting tool on the City’s website; an increased number of large volume rain events; and the state closing shellfish beds. The website is required to report releases in real time, which has greatly increased public awareness of the issue.
Ms. Powers also explained that the outflow into the harbor and bay is not all raw sewage. Most of it is rainwater. The state, she said, is closing shellfish beds based on the amount of water, not testing the water to see if it is okay.
She said the federal Environmental Protection Agency wanted to close it all down, but local and state officials want them to test the water first.
Next steps include the BBC assisting the City to work with surrounding communities. The City will try to find grant opportunities to upgrade the City system.
Residents can help, she said, by sending letters to their state and federal legislators to let them know that the problem affects more than the City of New Bedford. It affects all the communities in Buzzards Bay.
The legislative delegation will be invited to a future meeting of he group to push them to get federal money.
Ms. Powers encouraged residents to share the information and slides to let people know it is a real problem, but the City of New Bedford is not neglecting it.
The group will meet quarterly, the next meeting is on April 26.
The entire presentation is available at www.FairhavenTV.com
The City’s CSO reporting website is https://www.newbedford-ma.gov/public-infrastructure/wastewater/new-bedford-cso-report/
- This slide by the Buzzards Bay Coalition, which was presented at the Fairhaven Select Board meeting on 1/27/25, compares the number of New Bedford’s Combined Sewer Outflow pipes to other cities in Massachusetts.
- This slide by the Buzzards Bay Coalition, which was presented at the Fairhaven Select Board meeting on 1/27/25, highlights the improvements to New Bedford Harbor since 1990.
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