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Recent reporting in local papers has stated that heavy rains have caused raw sewage to overflow from New Bedford into the Apponagansett Bay, Clark’s Cove, and other nearby beaches and waterways, causing them to shut down shellfishing and sometimes swimming. How much rain triggers this overflow? It’s been a very dry summer, yet sewage is still overflowing. How can residents get notified when this event occurs? Where precisely does the sewage enter our waters? How much sewage in volume? This is repulsive! What is being done to remediate the problem and what can residents do about it? — Marcy Busch

On Sunday, Sept. 7, just over an inch of rainfall caused New Bedford’s sewer system to overflow at 11 different outfall pipes, dispensing 18 million gallons of stormwater and sewage into the city’s waterways. 

Incidents like this, called combined sewer overflows, can temporarily shut down the city’s beaches to swimming and fishing and also threatens the region’s shellfish beds.

So far in 2025, New Bedford has experienced 51 days of combined sewer overflow incidents, down from 60 days at this time last year. The overflows this summer alone totaled nearly 56 million gallons of wastewater, with most incidents taking place in July.

This is the latest installment of a series that answers questions about what’s going on in New Bedford. Ask the Light your question here and our reporters will look into it for you.

Although inconvenient and certainly gross, combined sewer overflows are a common occurrence for older cities whose sewer systems handle stormwater and sewage in the same network of pipes. When the stormwater levels get too high, like after a heavy rain, the excess wastewater mixes together and overflows out of an outfall pipe into the ocean. If it weren’t for the outfall pipes, the sewage would back up and overflow into residents’ homes.

Since 1990, New Bedford has been working to reduce its number of combined sewer overflows, investing more than $460 million in upgrading its sewer system to separate stormwater and sewage. Between 1990 and 2016, the city reduced its sewer overflow discharge volume by 90%, from roughly 3.1 billion gallons per year to 183 million gallons per year. 

The city is in the midst of a 20-year plan to upgrade its aging sewer system and further reduce overflows. Its goal is to lower the total volume of sewer discharge to 100 million gallons per year by 2037. In May, the New Bedford City Council advanced $70 million in bonds toward wastewater projects. 

The New Bedford Department of Public Infrastructure, which oversees these upgrades, declined to comment for this story. A city spokesperson said the department had “nothing new to report” on the city’s efforts to reduce sewer overflows.

Although wastewater incidents are down overall, the city’s total discharge volume varies greatly year-to-year depending on whether the region is in a relatively “dry year” or a “wet year.” For that reason, the city tracks wastewater overflow over multiple years and is investing in future studies to better understand its output. 

Even in a “dry year,” the city produces hundreds of millions of gallons of sewage overflow. In 2024, a “wet year,” overflows discharged an estimated 660 million gallons of wastewater into Buzzards Bay, up from an estimated 580 million gallons in 2023. But 2022, a relatively dry year, produced an estimated 295 million gallons of discharge. (So far this year, the city is on track to dispense less sewage than in 2024 but slightly more than in 2022.) 

These overflows can impact recreational activity like swimming and fishing — but not always. Between Memorial and Labor Day, the New Bedford Health Department tests the city’s East Beach and West Beach weekly for harmful bacteria related to sewer overflows. Even after heavy rainfall, the city did not issue any beach closures related to sewer overflows this summer.

Where these overflows occur depends on the level and location of rainfall, but the city has outfall pipes near Clark’s Cove, Coffin Avenue and Riverside Avenue, the Acushnet River, and various points along the Inner and Outer Harbor. 

There’s no one way residents can help avoid a combined sewer overflow incident. In some cases, just .01 inches of rain can trigger an overflow — and the only solution is hundreds of millions of dollars in upgrades.

New Bedford residents can receive notifications in real time about sewer overflows by signing up on NB Alert. The city also reports combined sewer overflow incidents online within 24 hours of their occurrence.

Email Brooke Kushwaha at bkushwaha@newbedfordlight.org.

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12 replies on “How many sewer overflows did New Bedford experience this summer?”

  1. This is the Parallel Products of the South End of New Bedford, poor air quality, pollution of our waters, a lot of truck traffic, people getting sick, and the plant just stinks.

    We were sold a bill of goods when Mayor Bullard heralded the New Sewerage Treatment opened on August 22, 1996 as a state of the art facility that would benefit New Bedford and take us into the future. Sound Familiar ? ? ? ? ? ? ?

    The new plant would be able to handle the current sewerage volume and the increases of the future, discharges would be less frequent, and if they did happen they would be cleaner to stop the pollution of area waters.

    Now fast forward to 2025 and under Mayor Mitchell were being told we are in the midst of a 20-year plan to upgrade the city’s aging sewer system, to further reduce overflows and the goal is to lower the total volume of sewer discharge to 100 million gallons per year by 2037.

    I sat in a meeting before the new plant was even built and it was said that all the overflows were going to be capped and over flow tanks were going to be constructed to hold the sewerage for processing to stop these discharges that are polluting our local waters. THIS NEVER HAPPENED AND OUR LOCAL WATERS CONTINUE TO BE POLLUTED TODAY.

    100% New Bedford needs new leadership that is honest, open, and cares about the health of our residents, and the future of our city.

    1. Thank you for your comment Jeff, this information needs to be amplified for the citizens of New Bedford and specifically for residents of Ward 6. I am very concerned and that’s why this has been a huge aspect of my platform. I am running for Councilor at Large for the pure fact that this needs to be addressed. I am blessed to live in such a beautiful area and it’s being destroyed slowly and we can help stop it. You are right, this is the Parallel Products of the south end and we need to figure out a solution quickly. Every year we are losing activity on our beaches: Quahoging, Buzzards Bay Swim, and water quality for swimmers and beach goers. An expansion tank would be a short term solution to the actual upgrade of our sewage treatment plant. This needs to be done.

      1. Shaun the over flow tanks were never a complete solution, but it was a way to contain the raw sewerage, let it be processed, instead of letting it pour into Clarks Cove, the Acushnet River, and Buzzards Bay. And in case of emergencies it could also be used with any upgrade plant. In 1996 Mayor Bullard provided us with a Hyundai when we needed a Cadillac, but at least he let there be public meetings so residents could learn about the proposed upgrades. provide their concerns, and ask questions. With this Administration you get forced fed whatever King Mitchell thinks is appropriate and that is why we need new leadership in City Hall because New Bedford Residents deserve better.

    3. I remember when the plant was built. Some of my family members lived in the south end and opposed it, while other family members supported it. The overflow remediation could not be completed all at once. Here is what I have learned. Links are provided at the end of my comment.

      1. Background and timeline

      Excerpt rom the EPA 2017 report ( This 48 page report gives a good background of what existed before the plant was built, and what remained to be done concerning overflows, etc.)

      “In 1987, New Bedford agreed to reduce CSOs and build a new secondary wastewater treatment facility under a consent decree with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection. The consent decree was updated in 1990 and 1995 to address cited affordability constraints and allow the city to prioritize wastewater treatment facility improvements and delay CSO abatement activities. By 2012, New Bedford had reduced CSO volumes by 91 percent since 1990, but it still discharged 284 million gallons of sewage into waterways that year. That same year, EPA issued an administrative order that required the city to address sanitary sewer overflows (SSOs) and develop a scope for updating its long-term control plan (LTCP) for managing CSOs. In addition to these requirements, New Bedford anticipated new nitrogen effluent limits that could require costly upgrades to its wastewater treatment facility. The city also has a storm water discharge permit that includes a total maximum daily load (TMDL) for pathogens in Buzzards Bay. “

      AI summary of the 2021 sewage bond failure and subsequent actions to solve the problem:

      In September 2021, the New Bedford City Council failed to pass a $128 million bond order for wastewater system upgrades, primarily due to concerns over rising sewer rates. This delay risked the city’s ability to qualify for state aid and fund mandated infrastructure improvements. Key events of the 2021 bond failure:

      Financial concerns: City councilors expressed opposition to a loan order of up to $128 million, citing the need for better financial options and fearing hefty increases to water and sewer bills for residents.

      Proposed compromises: In an attempt to address these concerns, a compromise was proposed to use $3.2 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) COVID-19 relief funds. This money would have been used to lower the yearly rate increases and spread the cost out more evenly over five years.

      Political gridlock: Despite attempts to find a solution, the bond order did not pass in 2021. This came after city officials had presented a detailed, five-year financial plan to the council that included the proposed sewer rate increases. Long-term implications and later progress. The failure to act on the bond in 2021 created a major roadblock for the city’s wastewater projects. However, the city later rectified this error and has since continued its water and wastewater improvements. 

      Links to information I found:
      2017
      EPA Timeline for New Bedford City Sewage Treatment Plans:
      https://www.epa.gov/system/files/documents/2021-07/rtc-profile-new_bedford.pdf

      2024
      https://newbedfordlight.org/new-bedford-working-to-reduce-sewer-overflows/ “New Bedford working to reduce sewer overflows”

      Links for 2025 bond for waste system:

      https://newbedfordlight.org/70-million-in-bonds-in-pipeline-for-new-bedfords-water-systems/  
      “$70 million in bonds in pipeline for New Bedford’s water systems”

      1. Addition:

        I forgot to include the link for the Camp Dresser and McKee Report which addresses the city’s long term plan for Combine Sewage Overflow. It is the 49 page report I had read, and not the 2 page EPA report I included. The report has many illustrations (charts, graphs. Etc.) which show a timeline for progress in various parts of the city, and includes a lot of details. The city had ignored the Clean Water Act for over 14 years before Mayor Bullard took office and the city would be sued for not doing anything. Cities that had acted sooner received grant funding. Other cities such as Boston, New Bedford, had not taken advantage of the federal grants. There were no more grant monies available when Mayor Bullard was being sued. It is a complicated problem for which people sometimes want simple solutions.

        https://newbedford-ma.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/49/20230112155953/Executive-Summary_ReducedSize-1.pdf

      2. You can provide all the documents you want. I have read them all, been to all the meetings, watch the all the city council meetings, and if your trying to shift the blame from the present administration good luck. I have lived here all my life (seven decades) and in past 10 years I’ve watched this administration take our city budget from $249 Million Dollars to over $550 Million Dollars and all along one of the most important facilities that people rely on has been ignored and let slide into disrepair. I guess spending taxpayer dollars on nonprofits and focusing on wind turbines is more important. As the mayor he should have been leading the charge. Where are the public meetings, so residents can learn about the upgrades, and ask questions? The residents of New Bedford have had enough, like with Parallel Products, King Mitchell has been a no show on Sewerage Treatment Plant, and it’s time for new leadership in City Hall.

      3. I forgot to include the link for the Camp Dresser and McKee Report which addresses the city’s long term plan for Combine Sewage Overflow. It is the 49 page report I had read, and not the 2 page EPA report I included. The report has many illustrations (charts, graphs, maps, Etc.) which show a timeline for progress in various parts of the city, and includes a lot of details. The city had ignored the Clean Water Act for over 14 years before Mayor Bullard took office and the city would be sued for not doing anything. Cities that had acted sooner received grant funding. Other cities such as Boston, New Bedford, had not taken advantage of the federal grants. There were no more grant monies available when Mayor Bullard was being sued. It is a complicated problem for which people sometimes want simple solutions.

        https://newbedford-ma.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/49/20230112155953/Executive-Summary_ReducedSize-1.pdf

        1. More reports and excuses for failed leadership. Again after over 10 years of this Administration and an increase of over $300 Million Dollars to the city budget it is a disgrace that the sewerage treatment plant has fallen into disrepair while the Zeiterion is being completely refurbished and the mayor focuses on offshore wind and expanding city government. All along the Sewerage Treatment Plant needed by all city residents should have been the number one priority and more than ever New Bedford needs new leadership in the mayor’s office.

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