Charlton wastewater manager reports employee departures, electrical failures and flow instability at plant

Dennis, the new Veolia project manager at Charlton’s wastewater facility, told the Water Sewer Commission the plant suffered multiple staff losses in April and several equipment failures that have affected operations.

Dennis said the plant “lost several of the employees at the wastewater plant” in April and that one employee handed in his keys and walked out on April 29. He said one senior operator remained part time through a transition and that Veolia was covering shifts with staff from Sturbridge and a temporary operator brought in from Lynn.

The new project manager described electrical problems in the equalization (EQ) tank area that damaged variable-frequency drives (VFDs) and underground wiring. “We filed many burned wires and melted insulation,” he said, and contractors had to replace underground wiring after short circuits and other failures. He also reported that one ultraviolet (UV) disinfection train went down because of a bad power socket and was repaired.

Commissioners and staff discussed operational impacts. Dennis said the plant is running all 10 RBC units and that loading and large day-night flow swings appear to be straining the biological process: daytime flows rise while nighttime flows sometimes drop toward zero. He said Veolia has engaged internal engineers to model options and that one idea under consideration is recycling effluent to stabilize flows. He told the commission he expects more firm recommendations “probably in the next 2 or 3 weeks.”

Commissioners raised specific local concerns: members noted repeated sewer backups on Route 20 at different locations this year and a major January event near the Amazon facility. Dennis confirmed crews used an emergency contractor to clear a recent blockage near Route 20 and that inspections show the line is currently free-flowing. He also reported routine work for April: six sludge loads to Cranston for disposal, delivery of six totes of caustic, about 600 pounds of polymer delivered, and 216 50-pound bags of soda ash in inventory.

No formal board action was taken on the operations report; Dennis said Veolia will return with further analysis and recommendations. The commission pressed for follow-up on engineering findings so it can assess whether future connection approvals or capacity allocations need to be limited while the plant’s biological process is stabilized.

Ending: Dennis and Veolia will provide another operational update after the engineering review; commissioners said they expect that information within a few weeks and will consider it before making any capacity or connection determinations.