Date: Fri 11-Apr-1997

By ANDY GOROSKO

Published: Aug 11, 1999 12:00 am

Publication: Bee

Author: ANDYG

Quick Words:

sewers-lines-Whitten

Full Text:

with cut: Sewer Line Installation Is 90 Percent Complete

B Y A NDREW G OROSKO

Almost 90 percent of the sewer lines in the town's sewer system have been

installed, according to John Whitten, chief inspector on the project.

Mr Whitten, senior project representative for Fuss and O'Neill, Inc, the

town's consulting engineers, said Tuesday the last major length of sewer line

remaining to be installed lies alongside Mt Pleasant Road between its

intersection with Diamond Drive and its intersection with Currituck Road.

Most of that sewer trunk line will be installed on the west side of Mt

Pleasant Road, with the remainder placed along the east side of that street.

The sewer installation work by Baltazar Contractors is part of the town's

ongoing $34.3-million sewering project which began in November 1994 on Taunton

Lake Drive.

The town's sewage treatment plant now under construction on an eight-acre site

at the end of Commerce Road is about three-quarters complete, Mr Whitten said.

In December 1995, the Water Pollution Control Authority (WPCA) chose C.H.

Nickerson and Company, Inc, of Torrington to build the treatment plant for

almost $8.8 million.

Major work at the treatment plant that remains to be done includes installing

equipment such as pumps and electrical components, Mr Whitten said. Also, the

buildings at the site will be completed. A road has been extended from

Commerce Road over Tom Brook to the treatment plant site. The road has yet to

be paved.

Workers are aiming for a September 7 treatment plant completion date, Mr

Whitten said.

After the new plant is running, the existing treatment plant which serves

Fairfield Hills will be turned off and its wastewater flow diverted to the new

plant. Sewage flows from Fairfield Hills will be used to test the new plant's

capabilities before it is put into town service.

Fairfield Hills, a former state mental hospital, is now used by Addiction

Prevention Therapy for drug rehabilitation and by the town for office space

and a library.

Also, wastewater will be routed to the new treatment plant from Nunnawauk

Meadows and Garner Correctional Institution.

About one-third of the wastewater handling capacity of the

million-gallon-per-day treatment plant is designated for town use, with the

remainder reserved for the state.

When wastewater arrives at the treatment plant from various directions, it

will be combined in a headworks building, channeled into a series of oxidation

ditches, and then exposed to ultraviolet light for cleansing. The wastewater

collected by 21 miles of town sewer lines will then enter clarification tanks,

after which it will enter a filtration building before being discharged into a

drainage channel leading to the Pootatuck River.

A town sewer transmission line, planned to link Newtown High School to the

sewer system via Sandy Hook Center, is scheduled for completion this year, Mr

Whitten said.

The high school sewer line extension wasn't planned as part of the town's

sewer system. But a groundwater pollution problem discovered near the high

school last year resulted in the school being included in the sewer district.

In the coming months, four sewage pumping stations will be installed to make

the sewer system function. The pump stations will be installed on Hanover Road

near Blakeslee Drive; near the end of Taunton Lake Drive; on Glen Road near

Church Hill Road; and on Baldwin Road.

Sheds, which will house electrical generators at the pumping stations, will be

somewhat larger than initially planned to comply with applicable electrical

safety codes, Mr Whitten said.

After the sewer system is complete, the town will set a time period during

which residential and non-residential customers will be required to connect

their wastewater drains to the system. The out-of-pocket costs that sewer

users will bear to physically connect to the system will vary depending on the

complexity of their particular sewer hookup.

Building a municipal sewer system was discussed for decades before voters

approved bonding for the project in 1992. The system is being built to rectify

longstanding groundwater pollution caused by failing septic systems in Sandy

Hook Center, the Borough, and Taunton Pond North.

The Way We Were

Silver Alert For Blue McGrath Ended

Top Of The Mountain

Cargo Van Driver Taken To Hospital Following Collision With Gas Tanker

Knotweed Initiative Program Planned

Well that is some spin. The Democrats have a super majority on the LC and passed the Education Budget without serious consideration of if the voters could afford the multi million dollar increase. "Was the request justified?" rather than "is this needed?" and "can the voters shoulder yet another large increase?" The voters rightly sent it back. Then for some reason all the discussion around reductions to the increase seemed to be coming from the classroom, rather than administration and overhead costs. Is this a coercive tactic to manipulate parents into supporting the budget like tacit threat of cutting freshman sports was two years ago? Who believes the Democrats did not caucus privately before the meeting and came in with a number already worked out? This is the Dems budget, they own it.

Education Cuts: Who Voted For What

I think it is important that we do not villainize every black box seen around a home, business, farm, or municipal property. A black exterior station does not always mean rat poison is being used. These stations can hold a number of different products, including monitoring blocks, snap traps, non-toxic bait, anti-tick bait stations, organic salt- or cornmeal-based control products, and newer fertility-control approaches intended to reduce rodent populations without traditional poisons. The better conversation, in my opinion, is not simply “black boxes are bad,” but rather: what is inside them, who is maintaining them, and whether the rodent issue is being managed responsibly. Exclusion, sanitation, trapping, habitat reduction, and careful monitoring should all be part of a responsible IPM strategy. To be fair, on my own property I do use rodenticides, including Bromethalin and Bromadiolone, in secured bait stations. But that is a choice I make for my property, based on my circumstances and the risk I am trying to manage. I also believe property owners should understand the tradeoffs and be encouraged to use the least harmful effective method whenever possible. I support protecting Newtown’s wildlife. I also support giving residents accurate information and not assuming that every black box represents reckless or unsafe pest control. The goal should be responsible rodent management, not fear of the box itself.

Discusses Policy Against Rodenticides

Debora, thank you! I accidentally doubled the project prices by adding the bond to the appropriation. Thank you so much for catching that and pointing it out. With the corrected numbers, the voters approved a combined $1.32 million for a salt shed ($600k) and library pavement ($720k), while rejecting the $1.12 million replacement turf. Regarding the 80s, I truly respect the hurdle of 14% mortgage rates. My point is simply that the math has shifted: in 1980, while the rates were higher, the price of a home relative to earnings was significantly lower. We are facing a different, but equally crushing, financial wall. Ultimately, it is disheartening that voters who recognized safe sidewalks and parking lots as essential, dismissed a playing field in the exact same condition. The turf has passed its life cycle and is just as much of a liability as the library’s pavement, the only difference is that this safety concern affects thousands of children who, coincidentally, cannot vote. These are apples-to-apples needs. I was hopeful our community would agree that all Newtown residents deserve safe conditions, regardless of which facility they utilize. Again, I would be remiss not to mention that when 82% of residents don’t show up, we have to deal with the interests of those who did. Hopefully, the next referendum will have a bigger turnout.

The ‘Me’ Generation

Thanks for the reply. I meant the numbers you presented in your letter. I found one place where other numbers were listed: https://www.newtownbee.com/04232026/get-out-and-vote-on-the-2026-27-proposed-municipal-and-school-budgets/?q=\\\%22advisory%20questions\\\%22. In that article, the numbers were cited as: Treadwell field: $1,125,000 Library: $720,000 Salt Storage: $600,000 As one who started out in the early 80's when inflation was double digits, my 1985 mortgage rate was 14%, and child care costs were comparable (in present value), I shared your grief but never considered the voters ironic or shameful. PS. I agree college tuition is ridiculous. Thankfully, universities are offering (or considering) waiving all or most tuition for middle class families (upwards of $200,000 incomes). Hopefully, they'll also reconsider their need for those funds in the first place.

Sure! Child care costs: https://www.ffyf.org/2022/10/13/data-child-care-prices-continue-to-rise-ahead-of-midterm-elections-outpacing-inflation/ (also from 2021-2025 we had 2 children in a local daycare in Newtown and it cost us $3200 a month, so that's a number I am very familiar with) Home price / median price vs income source: https://www.jchs.harvard.edu/home-price-income-ratios Tuition increase vs inflation: https://feed.georgetown.edu/access-affordability/noting-a-decline-in-middle-class-students-colleges-provide-more-aid/ Hope this helps :)

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Date: Fri 11-Apr-1997

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