Worcester Dumps More Poop into Public Waters Than Any Other City in Mass.

Photo by Aaron Knox on Flickr/Creative Commons

Worcester dumps more sewage in our waterways than any other municipality in Massachusetts, according to EPA documents recently obtained by MuckRock.

Worcester pumped out 525 million gallons of mixed sewage and rainwater in 2013, the most of the 24 cities and towns authorized to do so. However, Fall River dumps the most sewerage and rainwater per capita: 500 million gallons, or 5,627 gallons of rain and poop into the Taunton River and Mt. Hope Bay for each resident of Emeril Lagasse’s hometown. As MuckRock notes, Fall River is currently under court order to reduce this practice, called combined sewer overflow.

Sewer systems in older cities and towns were designed to drain away both human waste and stormwater. To prevent these systems from flooding back into your home in the event of a downpour, cities like Worcester and Fall River release them into public waterways. Not ideal, but hey, problem solved.

Lowell dumped nearly 200 million gallons of mixed sewage and rainwater into public waterways, while Chicopee dumped just over 100 million gallons. The most polluted waterway in Massachusetts, according to the EPA documents, is the Connecticut River, which runs through Montague, Holyoke, Chicopee, and Springfield.

You can read more over at MuckRock.