Tough Choices for WPCA on Sewer Allocations — And Multifamily Housing is Not the Sole Source of Demand

The members of Wilton’s Water Pollution Control Authority (WPCA) had substantive discussions about Wilton’s limited remaining sewer capacity at Wednesday evening‘s (Jan. 10) meeting.

The WPCA is experiencing a reckoning of sorts, after learning last fall that it will have to carefully prioritize how municipal sewer capacity is allocated to avoid exceeding the contractual limit for the flow sent to Norwalk for treatment.

Representatives of two different applicants seeking new sewer allocations added to the substance of the discussions.

Demand for sewer capacity is not coming from residential development alone. While multifamily housing projects may be getting the residents’ attention, commercial and industrial applications are also vying for sewer capacity — adding another layer of complexity to the WPCA’s decision-making, determining not only where the WPCA should prioritize allocations, but for what uses.

The Jan. 10 meeting did reveal some good news (albeit preliminary) about test results following a recent “inflow and infiltration” study (I/I). The results are expected to identify tangible ways to reduce some excess flow into Wilton’s sewer system. Theoretically, that would free up additional capacity. However, the cost for remedies is still unknown and could be significant.

ASML Expansion

ASML‘s expansion plans for its 77 Danbury Rd. headquarters will require additional sewer allocation from the WPCA.

The building plans — which call for a five-floor, 167,000-sq.ft. extension of the existing building — have already been approved by Wilton’s Planning and Zoning Commission and Inland Wetlands Commission.

Joseph Canas, a principal engineer with Tighe & Bond, represented ASML at the WPCA meeting and presented a summary of flow estimates and other details pertaining to the sewer connection. If completed, the ASML expansion is estimated to add roughly 19,000 average gallons per day to the sewer flow.

DPW Director/Town Engineer Frank Smeriglio has not yet completed his review of ASML’s sewer allocation request. He noted that the City of Norwalk will also conduct a review to understand the chemical composition of the flow.

Two meters have already been installed at ASML’s property, which assist the Town in understanding what ASML is discharging to the sewer system.

“That is a very good cautionary move on their part and for us. More information is always good and that’s being a responsible partner in all this, ” First Selectman Toni Boucher commented.

131 Danbury Rd.

Craig Flaherty, president and senior engineer with Redniss & Mead, along with several members of a developer’s (AMS, LLC) team, attended the WPCA meeting to discuss an application for a multifamily housing development at 131 Danbury Rd.

Flaherty reviewed the existing conditions at the site — the former Tracy Locke office space — located between Ring’s End and the former Melissa & Doug property at 141 Danbury Rd. (The latter is also being redeveloped into apartments.)

The sewer allocation request exemplifies challenges of estimating flow from a new development. Health department standards based on number of bedrooms are believed to overestimate sewer flow in many cases — leaving the municipality with less capacity to allocate than it might actually have.

In fact, Flaherty said he believes Wilton has “ample capacity” to accommodate developments such as 131 Danbury Rd. As evidence, he presented the results of a water use study from 15 different properties and a total of 1,784 apartments with 2,428 bedrooms. It suggested a reasonable estimate for average daily flow would be 55 gallons per day per bedroom — dramatically lower than the 125-150 gallons per day that would normally be used for planning purposes.

Flaherty further noted that a calculation using the 55 gallons figure would still be a conservative estimate because the actual flow would not be entirely incremental to the current flow from the existing building.

Boucher thanked Flaherty for an “excellent” presentation and called the study results “really helpful,” but expressed some caution about applying the conclusions to Wilton, since some of the developments and communities in the Redniss & Mead study my not be comparable.

More broadly, the meeting seemed to reinforce a growing sense of gravity at the WPCA over the past few months.

“I’m thinking ahead…. I feel like we’re at a critical point in deciding how we are going to approach a lot of things that are in the pipeline,” Selectman Bas Nabulsi said.

Smeriglio will present additional data for the WPCA to consider at its next meeting (Feb. 13), in the hopes of reaching a decision about the application in February.

Inflow and Infiltration

At its Sept. 13 meeting, the WPCA learned the results of an inflow and infiltration (I/I) study, which quantified the excess flow in Wilton’s sewer system. Based on the I/I findings, additional testing and inspections were conducted more recently to determine more precisely where and how the excess flow is entering the system, such as rainwater that is misdirected to sanitary sewers, defective manholes, cracked pipes, and improper connections from private homes or businesses.

Christine Kurtz and Lindsey Sylvester, engineers with Wright-Pierce, attended the WPCA meeting to familiarize Wilton’s new first selectman with the I/I results, and gave all the members a preliminary sense for the findings from the subsequent tests (“smoke testing” and visual inspections).

Sylvester indicated the findings would indeed be actionable.

“We found things,” Sylvester said, referring to 55 defective manhole frames among numerous other issues. “This is excellent. We’re analyzing all that data… and we’ll come back with rehab recommendations for the fixes, how much that should cost, and a schedule for prioritization.”

Smeriglio noted that the WPCA has funds available to pay for rehab costs, but any bonded projects would have to be approved at a Town Meeting vote.

GOOD Morning Wilton reached out to Dawn Norton, chief financial officer for the Town, with questions about the funds. Norton confirmed that “a strong fund balance” exists in a Sewer Fund that has been built up over many years, including a separate fund for sewer maintenance. (The exact amount was not immediately available.)

A report from Wright-Pierce is expected in March. The firm is also doing some modeling of Wilton’s sewer system to help better understand Wilton’s capacity.

Boucher says she understands why sewer capacity garners so much interest from Town leaders.

“The more I hear about this topic, the more I want to hear,” Boucher said. “It is really fascinating and very necessary. It’s the foundation that everything is built on, whether it’s in your home or in a commercial building or in your community.”

At least one resident agrees. Barbara Geddes (who recently served on the Planning and Zoning Commission’s Master Plan subcommittee) offered her comments during the public comment period at the end of the meeting.

“I found this absolutely fascinating and riveting,” Geddis said. “This to me is at the heart of our future plan: what’s our infrastructure? I think this is really important stuff.”