Pioneer Valley
Planning Commission

Eric Carle Museum, Amherst, MA

Press Release

CONTACT: Patty Gambarini, Pioneer Valley Planning Commission (413) 781-6045
Melissa LaBonte, Town of South Hadley (413) 538-5040

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 21, 2009

South Hadley Offering Stormwater Management Incentives Program

Under a grant administered by the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission, the Town of South Hadley is launching a new program to reduce the amount of stormwater entering the sanitary sewer system. The Stormwater Management Incentives Program targets inflow sources, specifically rain gutter, downspout, and basement sump pump connections to the sanitary sewer system, all of which add relatively clean stormwater and groundwater to wastewater.

Additional flows can overwhelm the sewer system, resulting in sewage back-ups into basements and public areas, as well as sewage overflows into nearby rivers and streams. Delayed inflow, usually from sump pumps, can last for several days after a storm event, resulting in elevated flows and increased treatment costs. In South Hadley, such connections to the sanitary sewer system are illegal.

As an incentive to property owners, South Hadley is offering free downspout disconnections by the town-contracted plumber and 50 percent rebates for sump pump disconnections. Rebates for stormwater management devices and other options for property owners may be available.

Application forms are available at various Town offices or by calling Melissa LaBonte, Water Pollution Control Compliance Manager for the Town, at (413) 538-5040. To apply online, visit the Stormwater Management Incentives Program web site at  http://southhadleyma.virtualtownhall.net/Pages/SouthHadleyMA_DPW/control/water.

For more information on ways to reduce stormwater pollution, visit www.ThinkBlueMA.org and www.Greenscapes.org.

The Stormwater Management Incentives Program is made possible through a grant to the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Targeted Watershed Grant Program.