Massachusetts City Faces Steep Flood Control Bill

The Massachusetts city of Northampton is facing an $800,000 bill to upgrade and maintain its storm water and flood control systems to comply with federal regulations.

And that may just be the tip of the iceberg.

City officials on Thursday held the first of a series of public forums to discuss the most pressing needs of these critical and antiquated systems.

The pending federal mandates are just the start of a much larger discussion of how the city will deal with a bevy of storm water and flood control projects that could cost $100 million over the next two decades.

The Daily Hampshire Gazette reports that the city is required to conduct a comprehensive review and upgrades to the 70-year-old flood control systems on the Mill and Connecticut rivers.