IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUIRED: Sanitary Sewer Overflow in Sudbury River!

Please be advised that a significant sanitary sewer overflow has occurred in the Sudbury River near Framingham Center. It is crucial that people avoid swimming and close contact with the downstream sections of the river for at least 48 hours. Approximately 525,000 gallons of untreated sewage and wastewater were inadvertently discharged into the river between 4:30 PM and 9:00 PM on Tuesday, July 30th. The Town of Framingham has issued an alert on its website, confirming the overflow has ceased. OARS is collaborating with downstream towns to post notices about the discharge at access points.

To contextualize the situation, sewage pollution is mitigated by distance, time, and dilution. This overflow happened in Framingham Center just south of Route 9. This is approximately 8 miles upstream of the Route 20 bridge in Wayland and 17 miles upstream of the confluence with the Assabet in Concord rivers. The river is flowing very slowly right now, and two impoundments are just downstream from the pollution site. We estimate it will take at least 16 hours to get to Route 20 and more than 35 hours to get to the Assabet confluence. Our normal bacteria sampling data shows that normal bacteria/sewage pollution does not extend more than about 10 miles. For example, we generally see high bacteria levels in Ashland but swimmable conditions 14 miles downstream at Route 20. That being said, this is a large slug of pollution (equivalent to an Olympic-sized swimming pool), and recreators should avoid close contact with the water, at least down to the confluence with the Assabet, for at least 48 hours.

Sincerely,

The OARS Team