I’m a homeowner in Paterson, the 3rd largest city in NJ, which is one of 21 municipalities that have a (CSO) Combined Sewer Overflow outfalls system. This combined sewer system (CSS) collects rainwater runoff, domestic sewage and industrial wastewater into one pipe going to a sewage treatment plant for treatment. The NJDEP is mandating sewer upgrades for all CSO municipalities with CSOs because the system is breaking down and is not able to hold the overload garbage and sewer waste during heavy rainfalls. Raw Sewage is  backing up into our properties on a regular basis. This situation is a City-Wide Health Hazard Emergency and demands immediate action NOW!

New Jersey received six billions dollars from The American Rescue Plan which can be used to fix infrastructure. Governor Murphy, Senators, Congress members and Paterson city officials should be advocating to use these funds to deliver emergency actions to our sewage contaminated neighborhoods throughout Paterson NOW. Let’s get on this!