An article reprinted in The Day (June 5), “How sewage spills from MA impact CT River and towns along its banks,” reported 12 million gallons of raw sewage were released Memorial Day weekend, closing Miami Beach. Not an oops.

Spills are frequent and predictable and DEEP knows it. It’s done to prevent raw sewage from sewers backing up into private homes. Even a half-inch of rain can trigger it. In Connecticut in 2023, there were 150 sewage spills, or more than 10 per month; and these are not minor spills. These are DEEP-approved releases of raw sewage — 450,000 gallons here, 950 gallons from Hartford alone in 2023, and so forth. Sometimes accidents do happen. A sewer main breaks or a pump stops pumping, but the dumping of raw sewage in CT by DEEP seems to be standard operating procedure.

Connecticut has spent billions on sewer repairs and will spend billions more over the next 35 years to fix what’s broken. By then, those fixes may need fixes. Today there are safe, affordable alternatives to sewers. So why does DEEP continue to push small towns like Old Lyme into a broken sewer network? You got me. Some towns have fought back and won. Old Lyme should, too.

Mary Daley

Old Lyme

Editor’s note: Mary Daley is a member of the Old Lyme Water Pollution Control Authority.