Suffield Meeting Sets Stage For Connecticut River Sewage Summit

SUFFIELD, CT — A group of Connecticut and Massachusetts officials and advocates is planning a summit next year to press for faster reductions in sewage overflows into the Connecticut River.

The Cross-Border Connecticut River Communities Initiative began planning the event at a meeting Monday at Suffield Town Hall, according to state Rep. Tami Zawistowski, R-61st District. The summit is tentatively scheduled for early 2027; a date and location have not been announced.

Zawistowski said the group wants to bring together communities and organizations from along the river to make a stronger case for state and federal funding. Its focus is on combined sewer overflows from Massachusetts cities upstream of Connecticut. Holyoke has participated in the initiative since it began, and Chicopee was represented at Monday’s meeting. Springfield has not joined, Zawistowski said.

Combined sewer overflows occur when rain overwhelms sewer systems that carry both stormwater and wastewater, sending a mixture into nearby waterways. The federal Environmental Protection Agency has documented such discharges into the Connecticut River from Massachusetts communities, including Holyoke. A federal settlement with Holyoke calls for work to reduce its overflows. :contentReference[oaicite:0]{index=0}

“We’ve got great momentum on the local and state level, but there’s always more work to do,” Zawistowski said in a news release. She said the summit would give the public a chance to hear about cleanup progress and what remains to be done.

The group plans to invite participants from across the river’s watershed, from its headwaters to Long Island Sound. Zawistowski said future meetings will address public health, recreation and the economic opportunities tied to a cleaner river.

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