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How each state reports sewage discharges

A quiet map can mean that nothing was reported, not that nothing happened. States differ in what operators must tell the public and how fast: some publish each overflow with its date and time within hours, some only monthly or yearly totals, some nothing we can read. This table shows, state by state, what is published and how the map should be read there.

Source: DirtyWaterWatch coverage figures from the reports and feeds on the Sources page, last 12 months; the duties from the laws named on each state page. Updated 2026-11-03 13:30 UTC.

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How each state reports sewage discharges; select a column heading to sort
State	Public-notice duty	Feeds we read and their detail	Reports, 12 months	With a date	Newest dated report	Typical delay	Grade
Connecticut	Under General Statutes § 22a-424a, a sewer operator must report any sewage spill or permitted bypass to the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection within two hours, updated daily. The rule this site applies Connecticut DEEP's July 7, 2026 guidance describes increased risk during rain and for 48–72 hours afterward on the Connecticut River and Long Island Sound.	CT DEEP CSO/SSO Performance Dashboard (QScend) (time of day, 1,149) CT DEEP Sewage Right-to-Know annual report 2024 (date, 7)	1,156	100 percent	Nov 2, 2026	not known	Dated reports Connecticut publishes dated overflow reports; the newest is from Nov 2, 2026.
District of Columbia	No District law requires public notice of sewer overflows. The rule this site applies DC Water's permit requires a warning light on the Anacostia and on the Potomac: one colour while a combined sewer overflow is occurring and a second colour for 24 hours after it has stopped (NPDES permit DC0021199, Part III.B.1.h.i); DC Water's own page adds that after rain over one inch the effects can last up to three days.	ECHO NPDES Sewer Overflow and Bypass Event Dataset (time of day, 15) DC Water news releases and public notices (sewer overflow notices) (none in 12 months)	15	100 percent	Sep 23, 2026	17 days	Dated reports, delayed The District of Columbia publishes dated reports, but the newest is from Sep 23, 2026 and reports typically appear 17 days after a discharge; a quiet map in the District of Columbia can mean a report has not appeared yet.
Maine	No Maine law, rule or permit requires public notice of an individual overflow. The rule this site applies The Maine sources reviewed here do not set a general post-discharge period.	Maine DEP Maine Combined Sewer Overflow Status Report (year only, 408)	408	0 percent	none	not known	Annual totals only Maine publishes yearly totals, not dated overflow reports; the map shows no discharges there because none are reported, not because none happen.
Maryland	Under Environment § 9-331.1 and COMAR 26.08.10, operators must report any sewer overflow or plant bypass to the Department of the Environment and the local health department within 24 hours, in writing within five days, and tell the public within 24 hours when sewage enters shellfish, drinking-water, beach or recreation waters. The rule this site applies Maryland sets no fixed public advisory period: a public advisory stays in effect until the local health department finds that sampling of the receiving water has returned to normal or prior background levels (COMAR 26.08.10.08D).	MDE Reported Sewer Overflows (New for 2023), Maryland Open Data Portal (Socrata stgj-u72u) (time of day, 884) Baltimore City DPW Sewer Overflow Map (SSO_Points2 map service) (time of day, 96) ECHO NPDES Sewer Overflow and Bypass Event Dataset (time of day, 5) Anne Arundel County Department of Health Recreational Water Closings and Advisories (none in 12 months)	985	100 percent	Nov 2, 2026	not known	Dated reports Maryland publishes dated overflow reports; the newest is from Nov 2, 2026.
Massachusetts	Since July 2022, a sewer operator must issue a public advisory within two hours of discovering a combined sewer overflow, a partly treated discharge or certain sanitary overflows. The rule this site applies Massachusetts requires notices to tell people to avoid contact for 48 hours after a discharge stops.	MassDEP CSO API behind the portal (time of day, 1,526) ECHO Effluent Charts REST services (month only, 277) ECHO NPDES Sewer Overflow and Bypass Event Dataset (time of day, 9)	1,812	85 percent	Oct 17, 2026	under a day	Dated reports, delayed Massachusetts publishes dated reports, but the newest is from Oct 17, 2026; a quiet map in Massachusetts can mean a report has not appeared yet.
New Hampshire	No New Hampshire statute requires public notice of sewer overflows; state law covers only notice to downstream drinking-water systems. The rule this site applies New Hampshire's law applies special water-use criteria during combined sewer discharges and for up to three days after they stop.	History of CSO Occurrences PDF (date, 30) ECHO NPDES Sewer Overflow and Bypass Event Dataset (time of day, 12)	42	100 percent	Oct 18, 2026	2 days	Dated reports, delayed New Hampshire publishes dated reports, but the newest is from Oct 18, 2026; a quiet map in New Hampshire can mean a report has not appeared yet.
New Jersey	No New Jersey law requires public notice of individual overflows.	EPA ECHO Effluent Charts REST (month only, 1,587) Camden County MUA 'CSO Status' page (outfall 040A, 32nd Street) (none in 12 months)	1,587	0 percent	none	not known	Monthly totals only New Jersey publishes monthly totals, not dated reports; the map shows no dated discharges there because none are reported by date, not because none happen.
New York	The Sewage Pollution Right to Know Act requires sewer operators to report untreated or partly treated discharges to the Department of Environmental Conservation and local health department within two hours of discovery, and to tell the public within four hours through NY-Alert, the state's email, text and phone system. The rule this site applies New York's sewage notification rules do not supply a general post-discharge period in the sources reviewed here.	DEC SPRTK workbook 'SPRTK_Data.xlsx' and older 'Sewage_Discharge_Reports.xlsx' (2013-2020) (time of day, 3,320) DEC Sewage Pollution Right to Know page, 'Recent NY-Alert Notifications' view (time of day, 1) NYC DEP Waterbody Advisory System (dashboard JSON API) (none in 12 months)	3,321	100 percent	Nov 2, 2026	under a day	Dated reports New York publishes dated overflow reports; the newest is from Nov 2, 2026.
Pennsylvania	Pennsylvania sets no duty to tell the public about a sewer overflow. The rule this site applies Pennsylvania sets no public notice period: operators report to DEP within 4 hours and in writing within 5 days (25 Pa. Code § 92a.41(b)) and notify known downstream users "if reasonably possible" (§ 91.33); CSO public notification is a permit control with no deadline; Erie alone falls under the federal Great Lakes rule (40 CFR 122.38: public notice within 4 hours).	City of Erie Bureau of Sewers CSO Monitoring (time of day, 124) ALCOSAN Sewer Overflow Advisory Key (SOAK) online overflow log (time of day, 66) Capital Region Water (Harrisburg) Combined Sewer Overflow Advisory Status page and Community Outreach App (none in 12 months) Philadelphia Water Department CSOcast (none in 12 months)	190	100 percent	Oct 14, 2026	not known	Dated reports, delayed Pennsylvania publishes dated reports, but the newest is from Oct 14, 2026; a quiet map in Pennsylvania can mean a report has not appeared yet.
Rhode Island	No Rhode Island law requires public notice of a sewage discharge. The rule this site applies Narragansett Bay Commission describes increased risks during rain and for up to 48 hours after a sewage discharge.	ECHO NPDES Sewer Overflow and Bypass Event Dataset (time of day, 15) reported to regulators (date, 12) NBC CSO Alarm Map live outfall status (JSON) (time of day, 1)	28	100 percent	Oct 6, 2026	3 days	Dated reports, delayed Rhode Island publishes dated reports, but the newest is from Oct 6, 2026; a quiet map in Rhode Island can mean a report has not appeared yet.
Vermont	Under 10 V.S.A. § 1295, a sewer operator must post a public alert online within one hour of discovering an untreated discharge. The rule this site applies Vermont requires discharge signs to remain for 48 hours after an untreated discharge stops.	VT DEC Public Alerts (untreated discharge alerts) on the Sewage Overflows report page (time of day, 183)	183	100 percent	Oct 27, 2026	not known	Dated reports Vermont publishes dated overflow reports; the newest is from Oct 27, 2026.
Virginia	Virginia places no duty on sewer operators to tell the public. The rule this site applies Virginia law places no public notice duty on the discharger: an overflow must be reported to DEQ or the local emergency services office within 24 hours (Va. Code § 62.1-44.5 B; 9VAC25-31-190 L 6 and 7), and DEQ passes the report to the Department of Health, the media and its email and social lists only when VDH or DEQ finds a risk to health or water use, with no deadline (§ 62.1-44.19:6 B).	Virginia DEQ Pollution Response Program (PReP) pollution reports, sewage-related (time of day, 942) City of Richmond monthly CSO outfall reports (per-outfall overflow events, XLSX) (time of day, 203) AlexRenew Outfall Overflow Status (Alexandria combined sewer outfalls) (time of day, 4) Virginia Department of Health recreational water and swimming advisories (newsroom search RSS) (time of day, 4)	1,153	100 percent	Nov 1, 2026	under a day	Dated reports Virginia publishes dated overflow reports; the newest is from Nov 1, 2026.

With a date: the share of a state's sewage reports in the last 12 months that give at least the day. To the poll: the time a discharge was first seen open or closed when the source was checked. Typical delay: the middle value of the days between a discharge's start and its first report, for the fastest of the state's main sources that give both times; sources released monthly or yearly are left out.