WPCA tells DEEP it will pursue wet-weather flow reduction; multiple sewer projects advance to design or construction

Norwalk Water Pollution Control Authority staff on July 21 summarized the WPCA’s 2025 annual progress report submitted to the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) on June 26, detailing work on collection-system projects and facility plan updates designed to reduce wet-weather flows and eliminate an outfall.

The update matters because the projects aim to reduce sanitary sewer overflows (SSOs), mitigate surcharge conditions and respond to DEEP oversight under the authority’s consent order and facility plan requirements.

WPCA staff (identified in the packet and at the meeting) said the agency has implemented cured-in-place pipelining in low-lying and coastal areas and expects to have completed more than 70,000 linear feet of lining by the end of September. Staff said they disconnected seven catch basins since last year and launched a design task order with Tighe & Bond to separate five additional catch basins in the Bettswood Road and Walnut Avenue area.

Staff reported the Hubbles Lane relief sewer project design has advanced to about 90 percent; the project is intended to reduce surcharge and prevent manhole overflows while permanently closing the Wall Street outfall. The Beacon Street sanitary sewer replacement design is complete and a preconstruction meeting is scheduled next week, with construction anticipated to take about a year once mobilized. Dreamy Hollow infrastructure improvements are complete and a sanitary sewer replacement project near Beacon Street was awarded recently; staff said that construction should take about a year.

On the plant side, the WPCA initiated design work with Arcadis for an upgrade to the final settling tank; staff said DEEP approved the engineering agreement in February and the project may be eligible for clean water funding. The staff memo indicates the final settling tank project is advancing and could be advertised for bid as early as June (year not specified in the packet). The WPCA also told DEEP that, as part of the facility plan update, it intends to eliminate Outfall 2 through a comprehensive wet-weather flow reduction program rather than by on-site plant treatment; staff said they proposed extending the timeline for that work from 10 to 20 years and are awaiting DEEP’s response.

Staff also reported progress on smaller, targeted field projects: Old Trolley Way construction is complete, the four-point pump station pump work will start in the fall, and Santa Street/Belle Island work (manhole rehabilitation, lateral grouting and CIPP lining) is on track for completion by September. WPCA staff invited questions; none were raised that led to formal board action during the meeting.

The board packet included the annual progress report and copies of ongoing design agreements; no vote was taken on funding or to change project scopes at this session.