CSO work begins in Fairview


Mayor Michael Bissonnette observed the combined sewer overflow project. Reminder Publications photo by G. Michael Dobbs

By G. Michael Dobbs, Managing Editor

CHICOPEE Get ready Fairview for a little inconvenience actually probably a lot of inconvenience.

City officials broke ground on the North Fairview Sewer Separation Project on Thursday, a $13 million project mandated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Environmental Protection.

The first excavation is on Britton Street.

Over the next two years, 36 streets in the neighborhood will have sewer lines replaced to avoid having raw sewage being flushed into the Connecticut River during heavy rainstorms.

Streets will also be repaved in the process.

Todd Brown, vice president of Tighe and Bond that is supervising the project, said, "It will take patience."

Brown explained that four sweeps down a street would be necessary to replace the sewer lines and deal with gas and water lines.

Water and sewer services to homes will be affected as construction travels down a street and residents will be notified. If a home's water lines are affected by the construction, they will be repaired, Brown added.

Alderman Ronald Belair expressed concern if existing sewer pipes from homes would be acceptable with the new sewer lines in the street. Brown said there is a chance there might be a problem if the home sewer lines has deteriorated and become "mushy."

Chicopee Mayor Michael Bissonnette, who attended a regional conference on combined sewer overflows (CSO), said the project has been possible through low interest loans as the city is not receiving any federal funds.

The city has more to do than just this project and Bissonnette said he and other others appealed to Congressman Richard Neal for federal assistance and for the extension of deadlines to replace the sewer lines.

"Neal was very positive," Bissonnette said. He added Neal wants to bring the EPA administrator to Chicopee to show off the progress the city has made so far.

"Neal gets it. His colleagues get it," Bissonnette said. The funding of the Iraq War and the post-Katrina recovery, though, is derailing federal funding of CSOs.

Bissonnette pointed out the efforts made by Chicopee benefit every community on the river south of the city.