The first step toward getting sewage out of the Merrimack is making the culprits own up when they do it. There is currently a bill (proposed law) in the Massachusetts legislature to require public notification of sewage releases. Please contact your representative asking them to pass the bill. All the information you need to identify your legislators and a sample letter to send is at this link and also reprinted below by permission of the Merrimack River Watershed Council.
A sample letter to send to your state senator, representative
Are you interested in helping pass a bill that will require wastewater treatment plants to alert the public whenever they dump sewage into the Merrimack River?
Currently there is a bill in the Massachusetts Legislature that would do just that. But it’s stuck in the House Ways and Means Committee, and without a push by the public it may die there.
How can you help?
Public pressure is a time-proven way to move legislation. Letters sent to your state senator and state representative can help them gauge public support and move the bill out of the Ways and Means Committee and onto the House floor for a vote (the bill has already passed the Senate).
This link will take you to a page where you can find out the name and address of your local senator and representative. You also may want to write or call Robert A. DeLeo, the Speaker of the House, who ultimately will have significant authority for whether this bill passes this year. The deadline is December 31, but don’t wait till then. Speaker DeLeo can be reached at 617.722.2500 and Robert.DeLeo@mahouse.gov.
Below is a copy of a sample letter that you can fill out and send to your legislators. Feel free to modify it — particularly if you have a personal story or anecdote. (Btw, as of this November, the bill is known at S. 2617; you may want to refer to it this way if you call or write your state legislator.
SAMPLE LETTER
Dear ____,
As a resident of _________, I am very concerned about the discharge of raw sewage into the Merrimack River due to combined sewage overflows (CSOs). As the next state legislative session approaches, I am writing to urge you to support legislation that requires real-time public notification of CSO events.
As you may know, nearly 400 million gallons of raw sewage were dumped into the Merrimack during rainstorms in 2017. Based on the number of reported CSOs to date, this number is likely to be even higher in 2018. Unfortunately, since heavy rainstorms are expected to become more frequent in New England due to the changing climate, we are likely to see more CSOs in the future.
CSOs are a threat to the both environment and human health. Over 600,000 people in the Merrimack Valley get their drinking water from the Merrimack River, and many more use it for recreation, including boating, fishing, paddle-boarding and swimming. A 2015 study found a significant increase in people visiting Merrimack Valley hospital emergency rooms for gastrointestinal illnesses following CSO events. Raw sewage discharges also cause algae blooms, which deplete oxygen levels in the river and kill fish and other marine life, and can be harmful to humans as well. Despite this, wastewater treatment plants are not obligated to notify the public of CSO events.
Our larger goal should be to stop CSOs as soon as possible through coordinated federal, state and local action to fund updates to wastewater treatment facilities. In the near term, though, we need prompt notification of CSO events to safeguard human health.
Thank you for your consideration, and I hope that you will support legislation requiring timely public notice of CSOs in order to protect Merrimack Valley communities.
Sincerely,
Founded in 1976, Merrimack River Watershed Council (MRWC) is dedicated to promoting a clean and accessible Merrimack River and watershed. As “the voice of the Merrimack,” the Council’s mission is to protect, improve, and conserve the Merrimack River watershed for people and wildlife through education, recreation, advocacy, and science.
