Press Releases

LOWELL, MA – Today, Congresswoman Lori Trahan (MA-03) welcomed newly appointed Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Regional Administrator for New England David Cash to Lowell to discuss the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s historic investments in upgrading Massachusetts water infrastructure, particularly sewage systems along the Merrimack River.

“For decades, federal divestment from critical wastewater infrastructure upgrades has forced communities like Lowell and so many others along the Merrimack River to foot the bill. That neglect finally ended when we passed and the President signed into law the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law,” said Congresswoman Trahan. “This package is delivering unprecedented federal investments to upgrade our sewage systems and clean up our drinking water. I’m grateful to Administrator Cash for joining us in Lowell today and for understanding the importance of stopping the combined sewage overflows polluting the Merrimack.”

During the roundtable discussion, Congresswoman Trahan and Administrator Cash provided city and state officials as well as nonprofit partners with an update on the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which was passed by the House and signed into law by President Joe Biden in December. Specifically, the federal package allocates $55 billion to upgrade community water systems and replace lead service lines across the nation. Of that funding, Massachusetts is set to receive at least $1.1 billion over the next half-decade to improve water infrastructure in communities like Lowell. In December, the EPA announced the first tranche of $188 million was being sent to Massachusetts through the State Revolving Fund.

“Modernizing water and sewer infrastructure is imperative to keeping waterways like the Merrimack River clean and healthy,” said Lowell City Manager Eileen Donoghue. “The high costs associated with these critical infrastructure projects can be prohibitive to municipalities that would otherwise be willing to take them on. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will go a long way towards helping communities make necessary upgrades to wastewater infrastructure.”

Over the past fifteen years, the City of Lowell has invested more than $150 million in combined sewage overflow control projects that have resulted in a 60% reduction in the annual volume of discharges from Lowell’s combined sewer system. Yet, even with these upgrades, the sewage system has been forced to discharge an average of 300 to 450 million gallons of overflow in recent years. This is a problem many communities along the Merrimack River face – from Manchester to Newburyport – and for decades, they’ve largely been forced to foot large bills for temporary solutions.

To further support those efforts, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law also contained a $1.4 billion allocation to specifically target combined sewage overflows. Trahan has advocated repeatedly for this kind of historic federal investment since she first took office in 2019, when the federal allocation for the EPA’s Sewer Overflow and Stormwater Reuse Municipal Grant Program sat at $0.

This package builds on top of investments being made by the state through a number of pieces of legislation, including the Legislature’s disbursement of federal American Rescue Plan Act funds, designed to address combined sewage overflows in the Merrimack Valley.

"This investment in upgrading our sewer system is about more than clean drinking water, it is an investment in a cleaner environment, and brighter future for Merrimack River adjacent communities,” said State Senator Edward Kennedy (D-Lowell). “The Merrimack River is an important source for recreation such as boating and swimming and wildlife such as bald eagles and fish.”

“These funds will upgrade and transform our water and sewage infrastructure, here and around the country,” said State Representative Vanna Howard (D-Lowell). “Though long overdue, these investments will materially improve the quality of our lives, providing cleaner water by removing the old lead pipes, more effective and safer sewage disposal, as well improving the water quality in our rivers, lakes, and streams. These are the kinds of investments in our critical infrastructures that we need more of, and the resources expended here will pay dividends for decades for us, in all of our communities.”

“The City of Lowell has been struggling to keep up with the costs and burdens of maintaining and upgrading its water facilities; annually over 200-300 million gallons of CSO’s are discharged into Lowell’s water systems,” said State Representative Rady Mom (D-Lowell). “I welcome and praise Congresswoman Trahan’s diligent work in passing the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, bringing to Massachusetts and to Lowell specially the much-needed funds to provide clean and safe drinking water for today and future generations to come.”

“I am extremely grateful for Congresswoman Trahan’s constant fight for funds for our district,” said State Representative Colleen Garry (D-Dracut). “Not only will we be seeing critical infrastructure projects funded, but we will be seeing extraordinary opportunities for jobs from those in the trades and those in engineering and planning.”

The officials were also joined by representatives from the Merrimack River Watershed Council and the Lowell Parks & Conservation Trust, both of which have been advocating for federal investments to stop combined sewage overflows for years.

"We know that once we began to tolerate a baseline level of pollution in our drinking and recreational waters, it is very hard to get people to once again trust the water source or trust the government institutions charged with safeguarding them” said Matthew Thorne, Executive Director of the Merrimack River Watershed Council. “Many community members now purchase bottled water and refuse to go near the Merrimack River. This infrastructure funding gives us a once in a generation opportunity to rewrite that narrative. We will be able to reduce if not end sewer discharges, prevent polluted stormwater from entering the river, and rebuild and replace aging pipes and infrastructure.  Importantly, local taxpayers will not be saddled with the enormous and unaffordable burden of paying for these improvements."

“These investments are so important now. The impacts will be watershed-wide and felt for generations,” said Jane Calvin, Executive Director of the Lowell Parks & Conservation Trust. “The youth in our region, our region’s biodiversity, including the nesting eagles overhead, deserve access to clean drinking water and a cleaner river system. We applaud Administrator Cash’s and Congresswoman Trahan’s focus on wastewater infrastructure investment and its larger impact on the health of our communities.”

###