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West Warwick sewer commission approves change order, rescinds lab bid after reporting problems
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Summary
At a September 16 meeting, the Town of West Warwick Sewer Commission reviewed August operating data, issued notices and fines to food establishments for grease-recovery violations, rescinded a recent analytical lab bid award and approved a change order on the East interceptor lining project.
The Town of West Warwick Sewer Commission on Sept. 16 reviewed operational results for August, confirmed enforcement actions at several commercial facilities and approved two formal actions: rescinding a recent bid award for analytical laboratory services and approving a change order related to lining work on the east interceptor.
Average daily flow for August was 3.6 million gallons per day, the commission heard, with a maximum daily flow of 11.8 million gallons and a minimum of 1.0 million gallons. Laboratory results showed biological oxygen demand (CBOD) removal at 2.3 milligrams per liter (99% removal) and total suspended solids (TSS) removal at 2.6 mg/L (99% removal). The plant met its phosphorus limit with a reported 0.08 mg/L. Sludge hauling totaled 462 tons sent to EPIC; none went to the landfill that month.
The pretreatment program reported compliance actions taken during August. The commission was told that Fomera (a significant industrial user) submitted required monitoring and met permit limits. Amgen requested and received permission for a non-routine discharge while trialing different product lines; staff said they would monitor those discharges. The program inspected nine restaurants: Fusion Latin & Caribbean had one oil recovery device removed from service and the other in need of repair and was issued a notice of violation and a $100 fine; Wise Guy Deli also received a fine and a repair request for an inoperable grease recovery device. Fry Bridal Catering opened without a discharge application or an operational grease recovery device and was placed on notice pending follow-up.
On contractual matters, the commission voted to rescind resolution SC2025-24, which removed the most recent analytical laboratory services bid award and restored the previous laboratory vendor. Commissioners said the low bidder failed to deliver timely reports in July and returned reports that contained irregularities; staff reported about 14 permit violations during the vendor’s short tenure, later reduced to about four as issues were addressed. Staff reported they had contacted the state program administrator (DM) during the transition and did not anticipate financial penalties tied to the vendor change.
The commission also approved resolution SC2025-25, a change order for additional lining and connection work on the east interceptor project. Presentations explained that a 42-inch interceptor installed in the early 1970s replaced an older 24-inch pipe. During lining work crews discovered two inactive connections to the old 24-inch that caused stagnation; one was an individual connection and one involved a full street connection. After lining, flows were shifted into the new 42-inch interceptor. The change order covers the additional work to disconnect and reconnect those connections; staff said the east interceptor cleaning and lining portion of the project is now complete.
Commissioners asked questions about contractor selection and past performance; staff named Boyle and Fogarty as the contractor on the completed lining and said this particular job had no issues. Financial consequences from the laboratory irregularities were not reported.
Staff also noted odor complaints in August: four from Fernwood Drive and one from Enfield Street. The commission recorded zero facility violations for the month. Commissioners accepted the superintendent’s report, the pretreatment update and the financial report and closed the sewer commission portion of the meeting.
