Sanitary Sewer Overflow Notification

Pursuant to state law and regulations established by the Department of Environmental Protection (314 CMR 16.00), Upton must notify the public when a Sanitary Sewer Overflow is released into Massachusetts waters. The law and regulations were established to make sure that the public knows when untreated sewage is released into Massachusetts waters.

A Sanitary Sewer Overflow (SSO) is defined as any overflow, spill, release discharge or diversion of untreated or partially treated wastewater from a sanitary sewer system. The discharge or overflow of sewage into a building is not considered an SSO. (A sanitary sewer system, which consists of pipes, pumping stations and wastewater treatment facilities, treats wastewater from homes and businesses. It does not treat stormwater.)

Under 314 CMR 16 Upton is required to issue a public notification of the following:

  1. any Sanitary Sewer Overflow that discharges through a wastewater outfall, either directly or indirectly, to a surface water of the Commonwealth
  2. any SSO that flows into a surface water of the Commonwealth and is the result of the sanitary sewer system surcharging under high flow conditions when peak flows cannot be conveyed to a wastewater treatment facility due to capacity constraints

When a Sanitary Sewer Overflow occurs in Upton a public notification will be posted on the town's website.

To subscribe to get Sanitary Sewer Overflow notices by email, go to the Subscribe page and complete the following steps: type in your email address in the Email fields, select Town Alerts under Urgent Alert, click the "I am not a robot" box at the bottom of the page, and click Subscribe Me. After you subscribe, you will automatically be emailed any Sanitary Service Overflow notifications and any other urgent town alerts.

On business days, the website will be updated within four hours of discovering the Sanitary Sewer Overflow. During weekends or holidays, the website will be updated on the next business day.

You can also see a list of all Sanitary Sewer Overflows reported to the Department of Environmental Protection by visiting their website. This list is updated within 24 hours of when the public notification is made. Select "Upton" in the Municipality box and click "Search".