A Combined Sewer System, the type of sewer built in Hartford in the 1800s, uses a single pipe to carry off both sewage and storm water. When it rains, storm water enters the pipe with the sewage. As these sewers become overloaded, they can back up onto streets, into yards and into basements. Combined Sewer Overflows or CSOs are used to alleviate pipe surcharging, spilling sewage into open waters.

Combined Sewer Systems exist in cities and states across the nation, including Hartford, New Haven and Bridgeport in Connecticut, and Boston, Worcester, Springfield, Holyoke, and Chicopee in Massachusetts. Sanitary Sewer Overflows are all too common as well..

Related Link: Sanitary Sewer Overflows