CHICOPEE — As sewage overflows caused by excessive rainfalls continue to pollute the Connecticut River, communities like Holyoke and Chicopee are moving ahead with plans to upgrade their respective wastewater treatment facilities and related fixes to the drainage systems.
To that end, U.S. Rep. Richard Neal on Wednesday visited Chicopee to celebrate a $1 million federal funding earmark that will enable the city to enter a second phase of upgrades to its wastewater pollution control facility to combat “historic” pollution of the river going back more than a century.
Holyoke, meanwhile, last spring began a 12-year, $30 million plan to fix the problem that will involve updating thousands of feet of sewer line, storm drains, and manholes.
The projects are designed to counteract combined sewer overflows, or CSO’s. During heavy rain incidents, excess sewage is discharged into the river, sometimes totaling more than a billion gallons of sewage annually. The overflows have led to unsafe levels of nitrogen in the water, and the latest round of funding will directly tackle the nitrogen levels.
Built in the 1950s, the Chicopee facility was not designed to meet modern nitrogen removal standards and is now subject to federally required discharge limits issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protections (MassDEP).
During his visit to Chicopee City Hall Wednesday morning, Neal reminded the couple dozen people there that 100 years ago Chicopee, Holyoke and Springfield were the most prosperous industrial communities in America. But that prosperity came at the expense of polluting the Connecticut River.
“The system is just old,” said Neal, who took the podium alongside Mayor John Vieau and state Rep. Shirley B. Arriaga, D-Chicopee. “It’s like housing — it’s old, and that’s where you need the regular investments today.”
Arriaga said that, “This is not something we’re doing because we simply want it to be replaced. This is something needed. Clean air and clean water are vital, and yes, it costs us millions and millions of dollars.”
Each summer, elevated levels of nitrogen enter the Connecticut River, which flows downstream to Long Island Sound. The excess nitrogen, which originates from wastewater, contributes to a process known as eutrophication, which occurs when excess nutrients stimulate excessive algae growth.
The problem with excess nitrogen is that it sucks oxygen out of the water, the mayor explained. While excess algae growth ensues, fish and other aquatic life is essentially choked out due to the low oxygen levels, forming “deserts” that lack wildlife.
“The commitment we made to clean air and clean water should never be dismissed,” said Neal, adding that clean air and water top the list for resources to improve life expectancy. He also said that clean water out of the faucet is taken for granted, but extensive infrastructure is the basis for something considered as simple as clean faucet water.
“We just come to accept that it’s supposed to work,” said Neal. “Let that water come out brown one day and see what the reaction is.”
Vieau acknowledged progress has already been made in cleaning up the river after a previous phase of infrastructure upgrades.
“The quality level is much better than it was when I was a kid,” said Vieau. “I remember being on a swim with friends, trying to knock each other off into the water…you’d have to go home and take a shower.”
Given years of investments, the Chicopee part of the Connecticut River is now designated as a Class B body of water, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. This means the waters are designated for fish, other aquatic life, and wildlife, as well as for primary and secondary contact recreation like swimming and boating.
“Our class level has gotten so much better, and that’s because these types of funds that are received through the federal government,” said Vieau.
The funding was made available through the Massachusetts Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF), and will be administered by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP). Funding is supported by the FY2026 Interior and Environment appropriations process.