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| By G. Michael Dobbs Managing Editor CHICOPEE Chicopee has received another state loan that will aid the on-going renewal of its infrastructure. Mayor Michael Bissonnette explained to the Chicopee Herald last week that the Department of Environmental Protection had approved a $3 million low interest loan so the city could repair 24 badly corroded storm water pipes and drains around the city. "There is no way we could have afforded it regularly," Bissonnette said. This year the city will undertake two aspects of the federally mandated separation of its sewer system to correct combined sewer overflows (CSO) that pollute the Connecticut River. The storm water pipes are not part of that mandated construction, but Bissonnette said their repair is part of the city's overall sewer maintenance program. Over the next two years, the city will save about half of the cost of the storm water project thanks to the two percent interest rate, Bissonnette added. The 24 locations are throughout the city, he said. He noted several sites, including the road behind Szot Park and on Exchange Streets as just two. Many of these pipes cross through private property as well as wooded areas. The metal pipes have rusted and leaked water, which, Bissonnette said, have created significant erosion. "The water has wrecked havoc," he said. He called the low interest loan as "a creative way to finance infrastructure construction that's needed to get done." |