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| By G. Michael Dobbs Managing Editor CHICOPEE Speaking prior to a neighborhood meeting on Tuesday, Mayor Michael Bissonnette said he recently requested state funding of $1 million to address a combined sewer overflow (CSO) problem on McKinstry Avenue. Bissonnette said that a sewer pipe going down McKinstry Avenue would have to be replaced. With heavy rains, the pipe overflows, which can push sewage back into homes and businesses. The mayor said that if the buildings don't have cut-off valves, the wastewater and sewage winds up in basements. He said that initially he hoped there would be money left over from the CSO project currently in construction in Fairview, but it appears at this point that is not the case. At the Sept. 18 Aldermanic meeting about 30 people from the Meadow Street neighborhood appeared to ask the board to do something about the flooding. A recent addition to the neighborhood, Jason Auclair, said he and his wife have a shut-off valve at their home, but have to remember to plug up the return to the washing machine, otherwise the sewage will enter there. One resident wondered if the city was going to compensate them for their losses. Robert Lussier, who described himself as a 50-year resident of the city, said that flooding and subsequent sewer back-ups were once sporadic events, but the problem had increased over the past 20 years. This year, though, was "the absolute worst," he said. At his home, he had flooding and back-up problems on June 23, July 22 and 24, Aug. 7 and Sept. 6. The Sept. 6th event brought in eight inches of water into his basement and forced him to shut down his furnace in fear there would be a fire. He said that in his case a curb outside of his home acts as a dam, trapping the water on his property. His solution is to pump the water out, which requires constant monitoring. He said when he hears a forecast of rain, he cringes. "If it's more than 20 minutes [of rain] I have to worry," he said. Once the water is pumped away, he then has to clean up the debris and noted his neighbor recently found a used syringe. "This is unacceptable," Lussier said. The follow-up story on the neighborhood meeting will be in the next edition and will be on www.thereminder.com by Oct. 2. |