The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has announced New England will receive $536 million to improve the safety of drinking water and to clean up lakes, rivers and beaches. The funding comes from the federal infrastructure law.
Massachusetts is slated to receive about a third of the total, or nearly $189 million.
Ken Moraff , director of the water program for EPA New England, said the money will help update sewage water treatment in communities with pipes that combine storm water and sewage. Those include Springfield, Chicopee and Holyoke.
"They still have old sewer systems that, when it rains, there can be overflows of sewage into the Connecticut river or into its tributaries," he said. "And fixing that problem takes significant investments in infrastructure."
Moraff said about half of the funds will be distributed as forgivable loans or direct grants — money that cities and towns don't have to pay back.
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