New NPU wastewater treatment plant 80% complete
Daniel Drainville
Norwich — Nearly three years into a $200 million project to
build a new wastewater treatment plant, Norwich Public Utilities says the
project is about 80% complete.
Construction began in November 2023, and is expected to
complete in 2028. Both plants are on Hollyhock Island, and the current one
continues to operate during construction of the new one.
"The analogy we use is changing a flat tire without
stopping the car," said NPU spokesperson Chris Riley, one of several NPU
officials who offered a tour of the facility last week.
The current wastewater plant has served the city for nearly
100 years. It was upgraded in 1955 and again in 1973. NPU says each of the
upgrades was designed to give the plant another 25 years of use.
Construction workers were working Friday while NPU workers
carried out regular plant operations. Plant Operator Dave Grundwalski said the
construction constantly changed the path plant workers take in and out of the
facility.
Water/Wastewater Utility Project Engineer Matt Hross began
the tour showing a new concrete "influent junction chamber" — where
the three wastewater pipes carrying sewage and storm water to the plant will
meet.
The three pipes are the Cove Street Force Main, the Rose
Alley Force Main and the Yantic Interceptor, a gravity line that brings sewage
to the plant from homes and businesses along the Yantic River. A gravity line
uses a downward slope to bring the wastewater in, while a force main uses a
series of pumps to push the wastewater through.
Grundwalski explained that the Cove Street Force Main brings
sewage and wastewater from Route 82 all the way out past the post office. Rose
Alley brings all the sewage from Don Mallon Chevrolet throughout the city all
the way to the industrial park. The two mains converge at the chamber — a
concrete box where all the wastewater gets mixed together before heading into
the plant.
The current junction is underground and the new junction,
which is not yet connected, is above ground.
After being mixed in the new junction, the wastewater will
head to the new headworks facility, a building where debris and grit is
filtered out from the wastewater.
Grundwalski said items such as plastics, flushable wipes and
even the occasional pairs of jeans, can get stuck in the junction.
Inside the plant, biological processes and UV light are used
to clean the water before it is discharged into the Shetucket and Thames
rivers.
NPU General Manager Jeff Brining said the project will
benefit the health of the rivers and Long Island Sound.
NPU says reducing the amount of nitrogen discharged into the
Thames River by building the new plant will have an enormous beneficial impact
on water quality in the Sound.
The new plant will discharge 75% less nitrogen than it does
currently, equivalent to a reduction of about 100 tons of nitrogen into the
Thames River each year.
In addition, large rainstorms currently overwhelm the
current plant, leading to untreated wastewater being discharged directly into
the Shetucket and Thames rivers, and ultimately, the Sound. The new plant will
be able to manage an additional 3 million gallons of wastewater per day,
cutting down the amount of untreated wastewater that will go to the river.
The state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection
ordered the city to upgrade the plant because its was not meeting water
treatment requirements. NPU faced fines if it did not build the new plant.
Last month, NPU's Board of Utilities Commissioners approved
a new, three-year rate schedule for all utilities which increases sewer
customers' wastewater rates by 15.1% in each of the three years. The increase
is largely due to having to repay loans for the project. The new rates take
effect Nov. 1.
The project is funded by $72 million in state grants, and
another $128 million in 20-year, 2% low-interest state loans, which will be
repaid by NPU's 7,800 sewer customers.
If NPU did not increase the rates, Brining said, it would
default on the loans and go bankrupt, affecting all gas, water, sewer and
electric service to customers.
North Haven voters to decide on $19.8 million for road improvements
NORTH HAVEN — Residents will decide whether to use up to
$19.8 million in bond appropriations for a variety of road upgrades, including
pedestrian and cyclist safety improvements and paving. A vote on the
projects will take place at an Oct. 20 town meeting.
This comes after the North Haven Board of
Selectmen approved five separate items related to road improvements at its
Thursday meeting, including upgrades to Sackett Point Road, Church Street
and Pool Road.
First Selectman Michael Freda said four of those five items
are eligible for state reimbursement and only one proposal, a $7 million bond
authorization for milling, paving and other road improvements between the
months of April and September 2027, will be fully encumbered by the town's debt
service.
Freda said in an emailed comment Friday that the list
of roads that would be repaved under that $7 million bond is "under
discussion but not finalized for next year."
All five of the items will be up for a vote at the Oct. 20
meeting, and they will be grouped together as one question. Residents will vote
on a total of three questions at the meeting. One of the other two is a tax cut
for veterans with disabilities connected to their services and the spouses of
those killed in action. The last item is a grouping of various budget line item
transfers from the 2025-26 fiscal year.
Of the five projects headed to the Town Meeting for public
approval, three are related to specific roads.
One of those projects, which would be funded by a bond
appropriation of up to $7 million, would contribute to reconstruction efforts
of Sackett Point Road, including road paving, the installation of new sidewalks
and lighting, signage and better drainage. Last year, the town
reached an agreement with a rail line operator to add signage near the Sackett
Point Road underpass to prevent a recurring issue with tractor-trailers
getting stuck beneath the 12-foot-9-inch underpass.
Another bond authorization proposal would allocate up to
$3 million for drainage improvements on Pool Road, including
replacements of storm drains, sewer pipes, curbs and runoff and pavement
repairs.
Additionally, up to $2 million would support
pedestrian safety improvements on Church Street, which bridges the Town Green
to Town Hall.
The fifth proposed bond ordinance would include up to
$800,000 for an initiative to make town roads safer for pedestrians and
cyclists, encompassing
a $784,000 state connectivity grant North Haven received last year.
The Oct. 20 town meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. in the
North Haven High School auditorium.