New steps to keep sewage from Passaic River

During heavy rains, Bergen and Passaic county towns along the Passaic River are the recipients of raw sewage swirling down the river from Paterson.

That’s because the rainwater rushes down the city’s streets and into storm drains, where it joins sewage from homes and businesses flowing into a sewage treatment plant. And the extra surge of rainwater can overwhelm the aging system, dumping the toxic mix of pollutants swept from the streets as well as the sewage through 24 overflow pipes directly into the river.

Paterson officials have estimated that to fix the system — ripping up streets and laying lines to handle sewage and rainwater separately — could cost $1 billion, money the city doesn’t have. For the full article click here 

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