County says Windsor vacuum sewer system leak could force pump‑and‑haul; valves will be added to allow line isolation

County staff told the Board of Supervisors on Feb. 6 that a leak has developed in one leg of the Windsor vacuum sewer system and that repairs will require temporary interruption of the system while valves are installed and the line is located.

Don (County Administrator) and utilities staff explained the vacuum system serves roughly 290 customers and uses a manifold arrangement at the treatment (or vacuum) station where four collection legs feed into pumps. “We have a leak in 1 of the legs. They're still trying to find that,” staff said. Because the original system design provided no cutoff valves to isolate an individual leg, the county plans to excavate adjacent to the building and install gate valves so legs can be isolated for testing and repair.

Staff said the system will need to be shut down while valves are installed; during any shutdown the county will use vacuum trucks to service individual customer “pots” (small tank connections serving 3–4 homes each). That pump‑and‑haul operation would be a round‑the‑clock, daily activity until the repairs are complete. Staff cautioned the work could require up to about two weeks depending on leak location, parts availability and contractor scheduling.

County staff described additional operational concerns: pumps are running continuously now and are under stress; the leak appears to be drawing in groundwater so run times have increased; as‑built drawings are incomplete or inconsistent with field conditions; and some system components are older, complicating spare‑parts availability. Staff said a longer‑term solution would be to phase out the vacuum system in favor of conventional pump stations but that conversion would be a more extensive future capital project.

Board members asked about customer outreach and the town’s role; staff said town leadership and the town manager had been briefed and that the county would coordinate messaging with the Town of Windsor and use emergency notification channels to ask customers to reduce water use while pump‑and‑haul operations are in effect. Staff also said the county is locating contractors and parts and is preparing to excavate and cut in 8–10 inch gate valves on the incoming lines outside the facility.

No formal board action was taken; the briefing was informational. Staff said they would notify customers directly and work with the town to manage outages and pump‑and‑haul operations while repairs proceed.